The race last night set the stage for the top 12 drivers who will compete this year for the championship. In that regard, I have mixed feelings. Overall, I'm very happy that the 12 drivers are all people I can root for. One driver that I have never rooted for (Kyle Busch) did not make the cut (he missed it by a mere 8 points) and while that made me shout "Alright!" at first, after I listened to his well said interview after the race, I mellowed my glee a bit.
Not only was he humble (at least he seemed that way and I assume he was being genuine) but he congratulated others involved who made the top 12, especially Brian Vickers. Given the mess they got into with each other earlier this year, I thought Busch's congratulatory comments about Vickers were good. Also, Kyle seems to have matured a lot this year, and now seems to be able to handle defeat as well as he does victory (not counting the dumb thing he did when he smashed the Guitar trophy in Nashville).
Last year Busch was at the top of the standings entering the championship series. Then he nose-dived to last place by totally losing it race by race. This year he still won races (4), but struggled otherwise just to get close enough to have an excellent last gasp shot getting into the top 12. He obviously fell short; but somehow, I think this year on top of last will make him a better racer, and more so a better person.
No, I will not make him one of my favored drivers next year, no matter what he does. It has something to do with the dorky sunglasses he wears I guess. Stupid reason, but that's my story.
