LAS VEGAS — Kyle Busch hit his first speed bump of the season Saturday, when he wrecked two cars and scraped the wall with another.
No worries.
Busch is the hottest driver in NASCAR heading into today’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the locals have made him a 4-to-1 favorite to win on his hometown track. The Sprint Cup Series points leader will start from the pole in his new Toyota, which suffered slight damage when he bounced it off the wall Saturday in the final practice session.
It’s not expected to slow Busch, who hadn’t finished lower than fourth this season in six races spanning three series before Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, in which he finished 31st. A blown right front tire sent him crashing into the wall in that race.
But an otherwise torrid start to the season has the industry abuzz, with many respected veterans marveling at the 22-year-old’s talent.
“Right now, he is the wheel man of the series,” said Mark Martin, who qualified third. “When you watch Jeff Gordon drive, Jeff Gordon goes really fast. But you don’t see a whole lot there other than going fast.
“You watch Kyle Busch drive, and not only is he going fast, he’s taking your breath, too.”
Busch certainly did that in the season-opening Daytona 500, dominating the early parts of the race before mounting a frantic final charge that was so dizzying, teammate Tony Stewart complained he had motion sickness from watching Busch.
