Busch family role reversal: Like son, like father

This is what Tom Busch sees weekly that NASCAR fans don't: one of the best Sprint Cup drivers in the world spending his day off under the hood of a car for six hours with a young driver eager for guidance.

Six hours of brainstorming over suspension.

Six hours of discussing coil springs.

It is the common man's idea of a migraine.

It is Kyle Busch's idea of paradise.

"It is never about, 'Where are we going to spend our time off?' with him, never about, 'Let's take a vacation to Jamaica,' " Tom said. "It is always about, 'Where are we going to race next?'

"Right now, weather permitting, the plan is to race the Super Late Model for 400 laps in Winchester, Ind., the day after the (Sprint Cup event on Oct. 18 at Charlotte). The plan is for (Brian) Ickler and I to go qualify and for him to come in and race.

"It has been like this since he started. He has always had a hand in how things are done."

Tom is the father of Kyle and Kurt, both of whom will race today in Dover, Del. It is the second of 10 Chase for the Championship events, a run Kurt qualified for but Kyle didn't because of a points system that makes about as much sense as being called for delay of game coming out of a timeout when lining up to attempt a game-tying field goal in a conference football road game.

(If only a crystal ball had informed me what might transpire with UNLV on Saturday, I would have crawled to Laramie, Wyo., to witness the inexcusable nonsense firsthand.)

Instead, the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series rolled around Las Vegas Motor Speedway and working atop the five-story grandstand was Tom Busch, spotter for yet another protege his youngest son has identified as one with immense potential.

Tom is also much like his sons when back in Las Vegas.

Was his first stop In-N-Out?

"Second," he said. "My first was to get the rental car."

Ickler on Saturday evening drove the No. 15 for Billy Ballew Motorsports, who Kyle Busch also runs for when he competes in trucks. It was Kyle who suggested Ickler for the team, Kyle who has Ickler run for his Late Model team, Kyle who seems to have a knack for recognizing potential in younger drivers.

Which is funny in a way.

Kyle is 24; Ickler is 23.

But this is how it has been since Kyle was 13 and giving advice to drivers four years older when racing Legends. Say what you want about Kyle Busch off a track -- that he can be arrogant and temperamental and petulant -- but there is no denying his passion on one.

No one enjoys racing more.

No one wants it more.

No one has won more at the NASCAR level this year.

Four wins in Cup. Six wins in a Nationwide Series he leads in points. Five wins in trucks.

No one is close.

"Kyle has been the one that has done everything for me," Ickler said. "Jumping into a different series, getting on bigger racetracks. He actually spotted for me in an ARCA race at Michigan. I never laughed so much on the radio or had so much fun. He has really helped me on and off the track."

Kyle Busch seems to be one of those guys who loves what he does so intensely, he can't help but share it with others, a trait undoubtedly inherited from his father.

Tom Busch said there was no other place he would rather be Saturday night than spotting for Ickler, who finished ninth in the Las Vegas 350k. It was the San Diego resident's third top-10 finish in 11 starts this season.

Somewhere in Dover, the spotter's boss and driver's mentor had to be happy.

"I would assume with the Legends team he has now, the next logical step for Kyle would be to own a truck team," Tom said. "I don't think he'd ever want to get to the Cup level as an owner -- it's far too demanding. If he could own a team and do a 100-lapper and then have a night off, that would be a real good time.

"Kyle enjoys giving back. He enjoys working with young drivers. It's a losing proposition monetarily. You can't imagine what it (costs). But he likes the idea of giving a shot to others. The same kind of shot he got from this sport."

It's a pretty cool thing.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at 702-383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com. He also can be heard weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on "The Sports Scribes" on KDWN-AM (720) and www.kdwn.com.