SARASOTA, Fla. — Kyle Busch crushed the competition on the track and in the ballots as he won first-quarter Driver of the Year.
Busch has won eight races in NASCAR’s top three series — Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series. Seven of those victories came during the first quarter.
Busch, who just turned 23, has three Cup wins (Atlanta, Talladega and Darlington) plus one pole, three victories in the Nationwide Series and two Truck wins.
“We’ve just been going out and driving as hard as we can every week and really having a lot of fun doing it,” said Busch. “We go out and race for wins and race for trophies, but to also get this kind of recognition for what we've been doing is pretty special.”
In the voting, Busch took 14 first-place ballots, none lower than third, totaling 142 points. Cup rival Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards’s three victories earned him one first-place vote and 72 points. Danica Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing, whose record-setting first IndyCar Series victory, garnered two first place votes and 51 points in third place, just ahead of Funny Car driver Ashley Force with 49 points.