Top 20 Countdown: No. 5 Kyle Busch
(Getty Images)
2009 statistics
Finish | Poles | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
The countdown
No. 20: Martin Truex Jr. | Career stats
No. 19: Brian Vickers | Career stats
No. 18: Kasey Kahne | Career stats
No. 17: Clint Bowyer | Career stats
No. 16: David Reutimann | Career stats
No. 15: Kevin Harvick | Career stats
No. 14: Ryan Newman | Career stats
No. 13: Greg Biffle | Career stats
No. 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Career stats
No. 11: Jeff Burton | Career stats
No. 10: Matt Kenseth | Career stats
No. 9: Juan Pablo Montoya | Career stats
No. 8: Kurt Busch | Career stats
No. 7: Mark Martin | Career stats
No. 6: Carl Edwards | Career stats
No. 5: Kyle Busch | Career stats
No. 4: Revealed Feb. 2
Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports is counting down the top 20 drivers of the 2010 season. The order was determined by a survey, which asked five NASCAR journalists – Jay Busbee and Jay Hart (Yahoo! Sports); Jenna Fryer (Associated Press); Dustin Long (Landmark Newspapers); and Nate Ryan (USA Today) – to predict the final standings for the 2010 season. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 5 with the unveiling of the No. 1 driver.
2009 finish: 13th
Our 2010 predictions:
• Jay Busbee: 2nd
• Jay Hart: 6th
• Jenna Fryer: 7th
• Dustin Long: 6th
• Nate Ryan: 8th
Outlook for 2010: If you believe that Kyle Busch can learn from his past mistakes, then his outlook for 2010 is spectacular.
In 2008, Busch romped into the Chase as the No. 1 seed … and promptly fell apart. In 2009, he won a series-high four races during the regular season and would have again been the No. 1 seed, only he missed the playoff because he didn't place well enough in the other races.
Yes, he won four races – as many or more than all but four other drivers – yet he only posted five other top-five finishes, which further cemented his reputation as an all-or-nothing driver.
Still, Busch has more pure talent than just about anyone on the track, a fact he demonstrated at Bristol late in the regular season. Needing a strong finish to keep his fading Chase hopes alive, all he did was go out and win the race. But his battles with his crew, the fans, Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt Jr., among others, and his struggle to settle for a top 10 when a win isn't in the cards wore on him over the course of the season.
If he can manage the inches between his ears, he'll go far on the track. For now, though, that's a wait-and-see proposition.
What you need to know: Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing jettisoned crew chief Steve Addington late last season, citing a lack of results. In the three races with new crew chief Dave Rogers, Busch finished 11th, 12th and eighth.
