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In that case, and in the scenario in which he finds himself coming to Atlanta Motor Speedway, the cliché is not just fitting. It has life.
Three weeks ago, Kyle Busch (No. 18 NOS Toyota) had a season-high 339-point lead over second-place Edwards in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings. Over the last two races, Edwards, the 2007 series champion, has sliced 147 points off that advantage to trail Busch by 192.
Now back in the championship chase with 10 races remaining, Edwards heads to the site of his first series victory (from the pole) in 2005. He was 241 points behind Clint Bowyer (and in third place) with 10 races left last year before rallying and falling to Bowyer in the title chase by 24 points.
This weekend provides another opportunity for Edwards to close the gap on Busch, who is tied for the most poles (two) at Atlanta, but has yet to parlay his good starting positions into a win. Busch has posted two top fives in five series starts at AMS.
Busch’s lack of success at Atlanta isn’t for a lack of effort. He led the most laps there last season (153), but a blown tire relegated him to 24th. In 2007 he also dominated the race, again leading the most laps (143) but couldn’t close the deal and finished third.
Make no mistake, Busch is still the man to beat in 2009. He’s posted a series-leading six wins, he and Edwards are tied for the lead with 17 top fives and he’s atop the leader board with 21 top 10s. Busch also has two poles.
Additionally, NASCAR’s Pre-Race Loop Data for Atlanta shows Busch with a higher Driver Rating than Edwards at 122.2; Edwards comes in with 111.0 rating in four races at the super-fast, 1.54-mile track.
The series will run under the lights at Atlanta for the first time in its 18 races there, another ingredient for great drama, which is becoming a staple this year. Fourteen of the first 25 races this season have ended with a margin of victory under one second; eight of those have been under a half-second.
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