Kyle Busch takes Kentucky by the horns

I’ll admit, I was wrong.

When Bruton Smith stood in front of hundreds of reporters last August and said the Sprint Cup Series was coming to Kentucky Speedway, I brazenly said Joey Logano would be the favorite. Logano was named as one of the seven drivers to participate in a Goodyear tire test a month before the big show in Kentucky, furthering my feelings that the 21-year-old would take the checkers at Kentucky.

Well, I’ll at least take solace in picking the right team for the winner.

From left: Crew Chief Dave Rogers, Busch and team owner Coach Joe Gibbs

Kyle Busch came out at Kentucky and stole the show. He won the Camping World Truck Series race, finished third in the Nationwide Series race, and owned the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, leading a race high 125 laps en route to becoming the inaugural winner of the Quaker State 400.

“This one ranks right up there with the best of them,” Busch said on Saturday night after winning the Cup race. “I haven't won any of the big races, unfortunately, yet. But, you know, it ranks right up there with Las Vegas being another of my prestigious wins that I feel like I've accomplished so far.”

Yet it began earlier in the week for the Las Vegas native. He mentioned that the car was fast right off the truck, and he worked with crew chief Dave Rogers to get the No. 18 just right throughout the weekend.

The one word that was thrown around all weekend was character. The bumpy surface at Kentucky was described as having character by Busch, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer, amongst many others who spoke with the media throughout the weekend.

“This place — you never get a comfort here at Kentucky,” Busch said after winning Thursday evening’s truck race. “It’s such a hard race track. Turn three is just my Achilles heel. It’s killing me. I think it has been all weekend. I’d like to be able to get faster and I’m working towards doing that. We just got to work on things that will help me.”

But after the cup race, Busch was happy to explain what he had to do to get the No. 18 to Victory Lane.

Busch chats with the media on Friday afternoon

“It's certainly a driver's racetrack,” he said. “There's a lot of characteristics here with all the bumps, the way you have to run the line around, whether it's the bottom or whether it's the second lane, where the bumps are, figuring out that, whether you go through them or around them.

“Certainly it makes for an interesting setup, having to talk to your guys, having to work around a shock package or springs that will help your car that will make your car handle best through the turns, over the bumps. You take all that into consideration, do the best you can.”

Now that Busch has cemented his name as the first-ever Sprint Cup winner at Kentucky, he’ll be the go-to man for advice on how to get around the track. While some drivers want Kentucky to be repaved right away, others say let it be for a year or two. Busch is one of them.

“I've heard rumors of repaving this place. Hopefully they ask us before they do it,” he said.

Busch chats with his team after Wednesday's Camping World Truck Series practice

And who could blame him? He pretty much owned the place this weekend.

Kligerman remembers ’09 ARCA win at Kentucky

Parker Kligerman won the 2009 Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 ARCA race with a last lap, last corner pass. He battled for ten laps with then fellow rookie Grant Enfinger all the way to the checkers.

On Thursday at Kentucky Kligerman ended up finishing runner up to Kyle Busch in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway. The 20-year-old said Busch’s romp from 43rd (he started last because he missed the Camping World Truck Series drivers’ meeting) reminded him of his days in ARCA.

 “You get in a rhythm, you get in a flow,” he said. “I did it in ARCA. If you start in 43rd and pass five cars a lap in five laps you look up and you’re in third.”

So what could he recall from that hot July night in 2009?

“Actually, I don’t remember a whole lot,” he said, laughing. “I tried to take notes and look at my notes, but I was a rookie at taking notes so I didn’t get much out of it.”

Luckily, his owner Brad Keselowski, participated in the Goodyear tire test on June 1st and gave some notes to Kligerman on how the tires would wear at Kentucky. Kligerman used the three practice sessions the truck series got to improve his truck for the race.

 “We methodically moved up throughout the race,” Kligerman said. “Fortunately we had a top five car by the end of practice.”

For a kid ARCA Series legend Frank Kimmel said was Kligerman was the “real deal” in July of 2009, I’d say Kligerman has a lot more winning left in him.

“He’s going to go straight to the top,” Kimmel said in July of 2009. “He doesn’t make mistakes that a lot of the guys you just mentioned made at his age. He’s a very smart, a very talented young man.”

 When you’re battling Kyle Busch it’s tough to win, but he held his own, and had a great points day at Kentucky. The Camping World Truck Series next races on Saturday at Iowa at 8 p.m. on SPEED Channel.

Wednesday photos from Kentucky Speedway

I failed in my attempt to bring you some Kentucky memories from NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers James Buescher and Parker Kligerman, who both won ARCA events at the Kentucky Speedway in 2009.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Cole Whitt, second in the points standings, wheels through the infield on his way out to turn a practice lap on Wednesday at Kentucky Speedway

I did however, shoot a few nice photographs. Enjoy them while I get some sleep and head down for Cup practice tomorrow morning.

Kyle Busch hangs out after the first practice session

Elliott Sadler was fastest in the first practice. He talks with Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate Ron Hornaday (right)

Mark Martin's No. 5 GoDaddy.com hauler pulls in to the Kentucky Speedway on Wednesday in advance of the Quaker State 400 on Saturday.

Austin Dillon turns a lap at Kentucky. He was the fastest in the second practice both in ten-lap average time and fastest lap time

Hornaday's truck will carry the Kroger logo this weekend

And, as always, check out the Quaker State 400 section on FOX19.com. Wednesday’s featured story was about Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevy in the Truck Series. Here’s the main page: http://www.fox19.com/category/215363/nascar-sprint-cup-quaker-state-400-at-kentucky-speedway

And here’s the Austin Dillon video, featuring yours truly: http://www.fox19.com/category/195974/video-landing-page?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6026791

Waltrip finally able to celebrate at Daytona

Ten years after his mentor, good friend and former car owner Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip found himself in the same place: victory lane.

In 2001 though, Waltrip’s tears of joy in celebration of his first career victory quickly turned into tears of sadness. The man they had called “The Intimidator,” had died. The man that gave Waltrip a chance to win his first career race would never get a chance to celebrate with his driver.

So ten years later, in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Michael Waltrip did what he did ten years earlier: win.

“I’m thankful. I didn’t come here to celebrate winning the 2001 Daytona 500,” an emotional Waltrip said. “I came here to celebrate Dale’s life and honor him with my No. 15 car and No. 15 truck.”

With the win, Waltrip became a member of an elite NASCAR fraternity. Waltrip joins 21 other drivers that have won a race in all three major NASCAR touring series.

“Today, obviously with it being the 10th anniversary of that terrible day, I wanted to be able to tell people that I was here in honor of Dale. So certainly was a lot of motivation from him, for me, and then fate,” Waltrip said.

“I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I believe everything happens for a reason. That's my faith. That's what has enabled me to live the last 10 years without total self-destruction because of that.”

And on this day, it was finally a chance to celebrate for Michael Waltrip. It’s a chance he didn’t get ten years ago.

“You know, someone said, I can't believe it's been 10 years. I said, Well, I can. I live it every day.”