Our Champion's younger brother, whom he fondly calls "Shrub," has won his first Cup Series event. Kyle Busch, younger brother of Kurt Busch, became the youngest winner in Cup Series history with the win. Donald Thomas, younger brother of NASCAR great Herb Thomas, previously held that distinction, but Busch beat him out by four days in age.

Busch won his first event on his 31st start in the premier series. The young rookie star led 95 laps in the event at California, and won on a Green, White, checker start. He has some second place finishes this season, but as he said, he just couldn't previously close the deal.

Roush Racing may dominate Chase!

I did an article yesterday at the Suite101.com site about Roush Racing's teams making the Chase. It appears now that Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, and Kurt Busch are all firmly ensconced within the top six. The other two Roush Racing teammates, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, are listed at eighth and ninth, respectively. They could make it in the last event at Richmond before the Chase, or they may not. Given their positions, their making it in will depend a lot on good luck. You can rest assured that drivers knocking on the door like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Elliott Sadler, will be hell bent for leather to knock them out of contention so they can get the coveted Chase berth that they hold.

Even with three teams in the Chase, Roush Racing has a definite edge. With just one more team, they'll have an even better chance of manipulating the field. Those cars get wider and wider as the laps wind down, keeping faster contenders at bay while a teammate flies on for the checkered flag. To say that a Roush Racing driver will be the 2005 Champion, is a little too brazen at this point, but it sure is looking good for the Roush racers at this point.

If it weren't for the Chase format, the recent shuffling of crew chiefs at Hendrick and DEI would probably have just been shrugged off as Silly Season moves. With Dale Jr. and Gordon getting shut out of the Chase this year, some changes had to be made in order for these so-called superstars to save face.

Regardless of whether you like him or not, Gordon is a champion, with four reining seasons under his belt, looking desperately for the fifth. Dale Sr. looked for the eighth too, but he never found it. Young blood came down the pike in the name of Jeff Gordon, and raised the competition to a higher level. These days, the same thing is happening to Gordon! What goes around comes around.

Lots of Dale Jr.'s fans will tell you that he is going to be a Cup Champion one of these days, but the fact is, it remains to be seen. He's going to have to make some serious changes first. Hopefully his reunion with Eury Jr. will be a move in the right direction. Time will tell, whether Eury posses the strength to guide Junior through the emotional stresses of on track shenanigans. One of the hardest jobs a crew chief has is calming his driver down and realigning his driver's focus after an on track altercation or pit road mishap. Can any of you imagine what it would be like to crew chief for Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, or even Tony Stewart? We won't even mention Robby Gordon and then there was Jimmy Spencer!

It will be interesting to see what Hendrick will do in acquiring a permanent crew chief for Gordon. With Evernham and Loomis setting the highest standards, it will be a tough row for a new crew chief to hoe. Gordon may have to spend a good part of the upcoming '06 season just getting used to dealing with his new chief, so he may not make the Chase next season either. Evolving into the right team chemistry isn't something that's done over night or even in a few weeks of racing. It takes time to breach the learning curve, and sometimes people find that they just aren't compatible.

The 2005 Top Five

Track	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Daytona -	J Gordon	Kt Busch	Earnhardt	Riggs	Johnson
California -	Biffle	Johnson	Kt Busch	McMurray	Edwards
Las Vegas -	Johnson	Ky Busch	Kt Busch	J Gordon	Harvick
Atlanta -	Edwards	Johnson	Biffle	Martin	Kahne
Bristol -	Harvick	Sadler	Stewart	Earnhardt	Jarrett
Martinsville -	J Gordon	Kahne	Martin	Newman	R Wallace
Texas -	Biffle	McMurray	Johnson	Mears	Marlin
Phoenix -	Kt Busch	Waltrip	J Burton	Earnhardt	Vickers
Talladega -	J Gordon	Stewart	Waltrip	Mayfield	McMurray
Darlington -	Biffle	J Gordon	Kahne	Martin	Newman
Richmond -	Kahne	Stewart	Newman	Ky Busch	Harvick
Charlotte -	Johnson	B Labonte	Edwards	Mayfield	Newman
Dover -	Biffle	Ky Busch	Martin	Johnson	R Wallace
Pocono -	Edwards	Vickers	Nemechek	Ky Busch	Waltrip
Michigan -	Biffle	Stewart	Martin	Kenseth	Edwards
Infineon -	Stewart	Rudd	Kt Busch	R Wallace	Jarrett
Daytona -	Stewart	McMurray	Earnhardt	R Wallace	Jarrett
Chicagoland -	Earnhardt	Kenseth	Johnson	Vickers	Stewart
Loudon, NH -	Stewart	Kt Busch	B Labonte	Ky Busch	Biffle
Pocono -	Kt Busch	R Wallace	Martin	Edwards	Newman
Indianapolis -	Stewart	Kahne	Vickers	Mayfield	Kenseth
Watkins Glen -	Stewart	R Gordon	Said	Pruett	Johnson
Michigan -	Mayfield	Riggs	Kenseth	Edwards	Stewart
Bristol -	Kenseth	Burton	Biffle	Rudd	R Wallace
California -	Ky Busch	Biffle	Vickers	Edwards	Stewart
Richmond -	Kt Busch	Kenseth	Biffle	Ky Busch	R Wallace

Track	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Loudon, NH -	Newman	Stewart	Kenseth	Biffle	Earnhardt
Dover -
Talladega -
Kansas -
Charlotte -
Martinsville -
Atlanta
Texas -
Phoenix -
Homestead -