Busch excited about change

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Getting to the front of the pack hasn’t been as challenging for Kyle Busch as getting race fans to cheer for him.

He believes joining Joe Gibbs Racing after this year’s NASCAR Nextel Cup season will provide an atmosphere in which he will continue to win races — and maybe more fans.

"I’ve done a bad job, I guess, of doing that," Busch said of earning fan support. "I’ve been put in bad situations and made bad situations for myself.

"Now it’s time to, not necessarily back down from the driving part of it, but to get more to where it’s fun."

The 22-year-old Las Vegas native officially was introduced Tuesday as the next driver for Gibbs. It will be the second Cup team, and third NASCAR team, of Busch’s professional career.

Busch will join Gibbs’ No. 18 team after this season, replacing J.J. Yeley, whose contract was not renewed. Busch, eighth in the Cup standings, will drive the rest of the 2007 season with Hendrick Motorsports.

"I’m confident this is the right place for me," Busch said of the Gibbs team. "Hopefully, I’ll be here for the rest of my career."

Busch, who signed a two-year deal with Gibbs, has won one Cup race this year and four in three years in the series.

He has spent the past four years with Hendrick, including 2004 in the NASCAR Busch Series, where his five victories earned him top rookie honors.

Busch, a Durango High School graduate, will join two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, 36, and Denny Hamlin, 26, with Gibbs for testing late this year, forming perhaps the most volatile and outspoken trio in the sport.

Busch said a key point in his decision was becoming teammates with Stewart and Hamlin.

The addition of Busch gives Gibbs one of the youngest and most successful teams in the series. In addition to winning four Cup races, Busch has finished in the top 10 in 45 percent of his 100 races. Meanwhile, Stewart has 32 career victories and Hamlin three.

A nationally broadcast news conference from Gibbs racing headquarters near Charlotte, N.C., kicked off with a video message from Gibbs, who was at training camp as head coach of the Washington Redskins.

"I think if you asked anyone if they want Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, they would do that at all costs," Gibbs said. He jokingly wished his son and race operation president J.D. Gibbs "good luck" with handling the temperamental trio.

Said J.D. Gibbs of Busch: "Both Denny and Tony said, ‘Look, I’m telling you, off the track and on the track, there’s no one that has the talent this guy has.’

"We think bringing him on board really gives us three guys that can win week in, week out."

Busch said he has been friends with Hamlin since he joined the Cup series two years ago. Busch’s relationship with Stewart has improved greatly since he was critical of Busch for "aggressive driving" in last year’s season-opening Daytona 500.

Stewart and Busch have become friends after working out their differences.

"I’ve been able to look up to (Stewart) because he’s been able to drive the wheels off of anything you put him in," Busch said.

Stewart said he is excited about Busch joining the team.

"Kyle and I get along really well," he said. "He’s aggressive like we are, and I think that kind of an attitude works at Joe Gibbs Racing. When you get people on a team that have the same aggressiveness, it makes the whole team even better.

"He’ll be a great teammate. He’s a great kid. He’s a great talent and he has a lot of natural driving ability. That’s what you look for in a teammate."

Busch’s NASCAR career began with Roush Racing when he was just 16. Two years later he moved to Hendrick, which released him from the last year of his contract earlier this year so it could sign Dale Earnhardt Jr. as its fourth driver.

Once Earnhardt signed with Hendrick, Busch became the hottest commodity in NASCAR. After about 10 weeks of reviewing offers, he narrowed his choices to Gibbs Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt’s current team. He even was offered Earnhardt’s soon-to-be-vacated No. 8 car.

"Now it’s time to loosen up a little bit more and enjoy racing in the Nextel Cup Series instead of it being just a job," Busch said.