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Kyle Busch has done just about everything in the NASCAR Nationwide Series except win a championship.
According to the media, 2009 will be the year he accomplishes that remaining goal.
In a NASCARMedia.com poll asking members of the media to predict the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide final top 10 in the driver and owner championship standings, Busch edged Carl Edwards for the driver title, 446 votes to 434. Busch had 25 first-place votes to Edwards’ 19.
The owner championship rankings also went Busch’s way; his No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing was forecast to capture the title this year by a 302-268 margin over the second-place No. 60 Scotts/Save-A-Lot Ford driven by Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing. The No. 18 received 16 first-place votes to nine for the No. 60. Last year’s champion, the No. 20 JGR Toyota, was relegated to fourth this year by the voters. The series’ driver and owner championships haven’t been unified since 2006.
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The voting in the driver and owner polls was limited to full-time drivers and teams only.
“It was fun last year just doing the part-time deal, but this year we’re excited about doing the full-time deal,” Busch said. “Certainly the goal is to win the championship for Joe Gibbs Racing – they haven’t had a driver’s championship in the Nationwide Series. The first championship last fall was with an owner’s championship, so we’re trying to get both.
“I think we’ve got the right equipment and the right guys to make a run at it. I think there are other guys that can challenge Carl (Edwards) and me, but both of us finished in the top two a lot in the end last year and we’ve both been up there to start the season.”
In the Raybestos Rookie of the Year balloting, voters believe Justin Allgaier will overcome the experience of Brendan Gaughan. Allgaier, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge for Penske Racing, outdistanced Gaughan, 277 votes to 266. He had 19 first-place votes to Gaughan’s 14.
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