NOTEBOOK: Kyle Busch is the story of the year ... so far

            Only an off week - the final one of the 2008 season - can seemingly put a halt to Kyle Busch's soaring fortunes.

            The 23-year-old Sprint Cup point leader has won three of the past four, and the next one, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has been won by the eventual champion six times.

            Busch, whose older brother Kurt won the championship in 2004, has won seven of the season's 19 races to date. In NASCAR's three touring series - Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck - Busch has already won 14 times, matching a record set by Kevin Harvick in 2006. The season, of course, is barely half over.

            Only two other drivers - Carl Edwards (3) and Kasey Kahne (2) - have won more than once.

            The season's remaining 17 races - 10 constituting the Chase for the Sprint Cup - will be run on consecutive weekends, extending from the Allstate 400 on July 27 through Homestead-Miami Speedway's Ford 400 on Nov. 16.

            Busch was scheduled to compete in the Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night.

"You try to go out there and win every chance that you can when you get behind the wheel," said Busch, "so, when you do that, you sometimes make some moves, or sometimes make some evasive action, or whatever, Some of that could be taken as aggressive, or some of that could be taken as just trying to win or the will to win, or whatever. I just try to go out there and do the same thing every time ... and that's to try to get that checkered flag.

"For me, we've just got to keep going. You've got to stay humble and stay hungry. The hungrier you are, hopefully, you're able to get some more wins, but picking them up and being able to carry them out correctly is a way of staying humble. We try to do what we can."

As if it weren't hot enough

            Edwards, the fitness enthusiast, rode a bicycle from his home in Columbia, Mo., to Madison, Ill., site of Gateway International Raceway, where Edwards raced in the Nationwide Series on Saturday night.

            The track is located near St. Louis, Mo., is about 190 miles from Columbia. Edwards' motor-coach driver, Tom Giacchi, joined him on the excursion.

Standings by team

            Drivers representing Joe Gibbs Racing occupy first, 10^th and 12^th in the Sprint Cup standings. Hendrick Motorsports' four teams are second, fifth, sixth and 24^th. Roush Fenway Racing's five drivers are fourth, seventh, eighth, 15^th and 22^nd. Richard Childress Racing checks in at third, ninth and 13^th.

            Only one driver not on one of the four teams noted above is in position to make the Chase. Kasey Kahne of Gillett Evernham Motorsports ranks 11^th, while his teammates are 23^rd and 37^th. Brian Vickers of Team Red Bull is 14^th, and Ryan Newman of Penske Racing is 16^th. Martin Truex Jr. of Dale Earnhardt Inc. is 17^th, and Newman's teammate, Kurt Busch, is 18^th.

Big stars twinkling

            Two of NASCAR's more successful drivers enter the Brickyard 400, where they have been similarly productive, without a victory so far.

            Jeff Gordon is the only four-time winner at Indy. Tony Stewart has won two of the past three races at the 2.5-mile oval.

"We want those wins, and we want to be more competitive," said Gordon. "We've got the consistency down. Now we just need to lead more laps and put ourselves in position to win more races.

"You never know when you're going to have your next win. It's the most competitive racing series there is. It's one of those things where I'm frustrated (because) I feel like we could be better. We're a great team; just performance-wise, we've missed a little bit, and we've let a couple of opportunities slip away."

            You can reach Monte Dutton at mdutton@gastongazette.com.