Wednesday, December 28th 'What If' Question

Following his announcement of joining Phoenix Racing with James Finch in 2012 in the Sprint Cup Series came the rumor that Kurt Busch would also be running for brother Kyle's Nationwide Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. The eye raiser of the rumor was that Busch would be running for points in the NNS and not in Cup with Phoenix Racing, the focus there instead being on winning races.

After leaving Penske following a year that Busch would rather forget: going through a divorce, only winning two races, faltering in the Chase and constantly at odds with his team and their performance, Busch says he's ready to work on his image and get back to having fun in the racecar. Maybe removing himself from the Cup Series and going back to the basics is what he meant.

The rumor is not all that far fetched. Just last week it was said that Kyle Busch would not be running in the Camping World Truck Series and should he run in the NNS it would be very limited. His Cup owner Joe Gibbs Racing and sponsor M&M's want to limit Busch's extra-curricular activities after he was involved in incident with Ron Hornaday at Texas last season. The hope of putting his focus solely on the Cup Series to pay off with a run at the championship.

Kyle's company though will still be running in both series and needs drivers. No better driver than your older brother, a proven winner and champion. And it certainly wouldn't hurt to have his experience behind the wheel when it comes to helping the team venture into the NNS for the first time, with 2012 being their inaugural season after running in the CWTS the last two years.

It puts the NNS title up for grabs since many drivers who battled for the championship in 2011 might not be back. Aric Almirola is rumored to be signing with Richard Petty Motorsports and going back to the Cup Series. Reed Sorenson still doesn't have a championship contending ride and Elliott Sadler will be working with a slightly new team as Richard Childress bought out Kevin Harvick Inc.

As for the champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., he might not even be able to contend. Racing with a lack of sponsorship in 2011, that same issue might keep him sidelined in 2012. Stenhouse is still waiting to hear about his future as are the fans and NNS, his loss would be a loss for all. The 2012 plans of Stenhouse and Busch will be anxiously awaited over the next few weeks before testing in Daytona gets underway.

But ...

What if Kurt Busch does compete for points and runs for brother Kyle’s Nationwide Series team, does he become the preseason favorite? @NancyatStudioN YES. But I think Finch wants to go for title - whether likely or not

@Gman1439 yes......he would be my preseason favorite if that happened, but i hope it doesnt...

@Alex14_11 yes he would have to be! He wouldn't have much competition.

@MattEmbury That would not be a very popular move, come to think of it I don't think Kurt would do would be popular right now anyway.

@Fishnwhistle I wonder if Champions provisional would apply if he was not racing for Cup Championship.? #RulebookChallenged

@cruetten the easy answer is yes, but I don't remember Kurt driving the nns cars too often--might take some time to adjust. [Editor's note - Busch ran one NNS race in 2011, driving the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge at Watkins Glen. He sat on the pole and won the race. Busch has three career NNS wins in 12 starts.]