Chase Hangover? Not for Kyle Busch

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch hasn't lost a step from 2008.

Well, the Kyle Busch from before the Chase for the Championship, that is.

Thursday afternoon, Busch took his No. 18 Toyota high and then low on the final lap of the second race of the Gatorade Duels at Daytona to block Mark Martin and Brian Vickers and score the victory in the 150-miler.

The win marked the 23-year-old's second win in the last three outings at the east Florida track, as he took the win last July in the Coke Zero 400 after a last-lap duel with Carl Edwards ended prematurely thanks to a caution on the white flag lap.

Last July's win was one of eight that Busch picked up in the Sprint Cup Series during a summer stretch that probably should have been named in his honor. Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington, Dover, Sonoma, Daytona, Chicago and Watkins Glen all handed out trophies and checks to NASCAR's younger K. Busch.

Needless to say, Busch was clearly looking like a favorite to walk away with a Sprint Cup title.

But then, as you, Kyle and NASCAR's first winner of three consecutive championships in 30 years -- Jimmie Johnson -- things didn't go quite as planned in the ten race prime time of the Sprint Cup got underway.

First, his suspension failed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then his engine blew at Dover and to cap it off, a fuel pressure problem at Kansas Speedway reduced the high-flying Busch to nothing more than a fourth quarter disappointment in a season he had so easily dominated the first three in.

So when Busch's spotter guided helped guide the No. 18 Toyota towards the wall up high in Daytona's turn four to block a quickly advancing Mark Martin -- a move that was awful similar to Martin's unsuccessful attempt at blocking Kevin Harvick for the Daytona 500 win in 2007 -- and when he bolted back down the track along the final stretch to slow a surprising advance by Brian Vickers, did he feel like he was making a statement to the rest of the field about 2009?

"Not really. Not here in Daytona. You know, the statement's more so when we get to California, Vegas, Atlanta, that we'll be a force to be reckoned with." said Busch.

What does it mean, then, for Busch to come out of the box at Daytona, score a tough win, and shrug it off?

Nothing more, of course, then knowing that the Kyle Busch full of swagger and confidence hasn't disappeared after an ending to 2008 that could -- with the most positive spin allowed -- be declared a disappointment.

Heads up, NASCAR.