Exciting possibilities for younger Busch

By DAVID GREEN

It's a struggle for some of us (read: yours truly) to walk the fine line between fondly remembering and trying to live in the past. The former is a wonderful thing, while the latter is a doomed and frustratingly futile thing.

Nevertheless, Kyle Busch's remarks to SPEED TV's Tom Jensen yesterday about the possibilities of open-wheel racing in his future were quite intriguing to me, largely because they invoked memories of racing's past and raised the notion that we might be able to go "back to the future," in a manner of speaking.

We'll deal with the personality issue first, and get it out of the way. Busch has more than his share of detractors, and he has done more than a little to give them ammunition, and then to bait and further antagonize them.

For those who wish to focus on that, fine. I choose to ignore it. I was out of the daily bustle of NASCAR racing before Kyle arrived on the scene, and I've never met him. He may be a nice guy who comes off differently to the public, or he may actually be something other than a nice guy. Doesn't matter. The kid can drive.

Sometimes he says things that are, to be kind, provocative. His remarks about the possibility of racing in Formula One raised by Peter Windsor at this week's announcement of the USF1 team may anger some NASCAR fans. From my perspective, what Busch said was tantalizing.

For those who may not know, he said that he's interested in doing other forms of racing, including the Indy 500 and Formula One, but not right now. His priority right now is NASCAR, and winning a Cup Series championship.

But once that mountain has been conquered (and I believe it's a question of "when," not "if"), he's inclined to look at other peaks to scale.

I really like that attitude.

Never really thought I would say those five words in reference to Kyle, but there they are.

Windsor said Busch could be a star in F1. I agree. Not merely a headline grabber or a marketable presence, but a strong competitor -- even a champion, in the right equipment.

And then, Busch told Jensen, he'd like to come back to NASCAR, where careers tend to be a lot more longer-winded.

Wow. Sounds kind of like the old days, when drivers weren't so tied down to one endeavor, into which they had to put everything to the extent that it had to be all-consuming.

And the Wood Brothers are running a limited schedule of selected races.

Hey -- maybe going "back to the future" isn't impossible, after all.