Busch's win fit for a King?

JOLIET, Ill. -- It started as a day fit for the King. NASCAR celebrated the 50th anniversary of Richard Petty's first start in NASCAR on Saturday night, awarding him a crystal bowl in the drivers' meeting and honoring him on the stage during pre-race introductions.

Each of the 43 drivers starting the Sprint Cup event at Chicagoland Speedway wore a Pettyesque cowboy hat, which many asked the seven-time champion to sign. He obliged as he's always done, his autograph often accompanied by a wide smile and a friendly squeeze of the neck.

Yet maybe the King should have procured a signature of his own. Because after his sensational, unthinkable, yanked-from-the-maw-of-defeat victory in the Lifelock.com 400, Kyle Busch took another step toward matching or surpassing the NASCAR icon in at least one category.

The 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver recorded his seventh win of the year, and, with half the Sprint Cup season remaining, has a chance of reaching the modern-era mark of 13 set first by Petty in 1975 and later tied by Jeff Gordon in 1998.

And after Saturday, who would doubt him? What transpired in the final laps on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland track may go down as a defining moment in the career of a driver who seems to take another great leap forward every week. When Jimmie Johnson overtook him with 16 laps remaining, he radioed to his crew: "race over."

But then David Gilliland blew an engine, and the 400-miler turned into a three-lap shootout, and Busch shoved his No. 18 car to the outside off the restart and beat the two-time defending series champion at his own game. To call it a passing of the torch would be a vast understatement. Johnson didn't pass anything. Busch took it, leaving his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate feeling singed.

"When he was my teammate at Hendrick, I made a few comments that once he learns how to win, he's going to be really tough to beat," Johnson said. "And he's figured that out. He used to knock the right side off the car at least four or five times a night and take himself out of contention. And he's figured out how to stop doing that.

"I think he's done a lot of maturing from the end of last year, when it was announced he was going to leave, through the start of this season. I think the experience of starting over and building new relationships has really done a lot for him."

And now, anything seems possible. Even Busch admitted, he doesn't win these kinds of races, Johnson does. There were times earlier in his career when he's seen Johnson out front, knew catching him was hopeless, and settled for where he was.

LifeLock.com 400

Official Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Kyle Busch	Toyota
2.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
3.	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet
4.	Greg Biffle	Ford
5.	Tony Stewart	Toyota
6.	Brian Vickers	Toyota
7.	Matt Kenseth	Ford
8.	David Ragan	Ford
9.	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet
10.	Ryan Newman	Dodge

• Results | Points | Laps
• Video | Photo Gallery

There were times where he was ahead, but saw Johnson coming with 50 or 80 or even 100 laps to go, and knew the gig was up. The sport's ultimate finisher would gobble him up as if Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was some more superior animal on the food chain.

"He would take the lead, I was always like, it's over, and he'd go on to win," Busch said. "I was pretty much right. This is the first time I think I've said 'race over' and Jimmie Johnson didn't win. Sometimes things change. That's why you never give up in this sport, I guess."

He realizes he caught a massive break when Gilliland's Ford began spewing clouds of smoke. "I did surprise myself tonight, yes," Busch said. "But without that caution, the race was over. Just judging by what was in front of me and what I knew at that given point, the race was over. Jimmie was going to lead us to the checkered flag without that caution.

"When that caution came out, it kind of changed everything. I was just trying on that restart, doing whatever I could to get back by him. The car stuck on the outside. I just drove it for all it was worth and gave it everything I had."

And suddenly, much more positive messages began emitting from the No. 18 team's radio.

"That's what I'm talking about, Kyle Busch!" spotted Jeff Dickerson roared from atop the grandstand. "We do not quit!" The driver seemed dazed. "I do not believe it," he said in a soft, uncharacteristic voice.

Believe it.

Seven wins on the season, three of the last four, a 50-point lead on Carl Edwards if the Chase started today (Edwards' bonus points from Las Vegas won't count). He's won races the last two weeks he seemed to have no business winning, yet ended up in Victory Lane nonetheless. He's experiencing a degree of success that few others have enjoyed.

Gordon knows the feeling.

"It's crazy," he said. "You're going along there and you've got a strong car and a strong team and you're feeling like you're doing a good job. You're winning races that you feel like you as a team really worked hard for and earned. But then you start winning races that you felt like you shouldn't have won and it just kind of boggles your mind.

"That's kind of the way I've seen those guys. They're strong. They're very good. They've done a great job. And they've put themselves in position to win races. Some people have just given the races away. But for the most part, they've earned everyone of them, and they're tough.

"They're very strong right now. And I think it's everybody's goal out there to try to break that momentum that they have, especially as we get closer and closer to the Chase. But nobody's been able to do it yet. So we'll see."

The experience is winning Busch fans, something that was evident by the cheers at Chicagoland on Saturday night. It's making him seem a little more relaxed, a little more humble. Yet he's taking nothing for granted.

"Jeff Gordon, I guess, he had the beginning of [last] year, the first 26 races just sewn up and was gone," Busch said. "And then in the final 10, he finished second in points, which wasn't bad, but he just didn't have the luck or the spark that he had in the first 26. I'm hoping we don't lose it."

But Gordon had won only four times to this point last season, not seven. Gordon went into the Chase facing a points deficit, something Busch -- with only seven events left until the playoff -- is almost certain to avoid.

So no, a comparison to Gordon's campaign of last year isn't entirely accurate. Maybe Gordon's season of 1998. Or the effort turned in 33 years ago by the man they call the King.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.