Kyle Busch wins 1st Quarter Driver Of The Year Award.

Kyle Busch crushed the competition on the track and in the ballots as he won 1st quarter DRIVER OF THE YEAR 2008.

Busch won a total seven races in NASCAR’s top-three series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series.

The driver of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #18 M & M’s Toyota Camry was a little surprised upon hearing of his media accolade. "To be honest, I don't know what to say,” Busch said. “Completely unexpected. We've just been going out and driving as hard as we can every week and really having alot of fun doing it. We go out and race for wins and race for trophies, but to also get this kind of recognition for what we've been doing is pretty special."

Although he leads in the Cup standings with a second place this past weekend in Richmond International Raceway, voting only considered results through the previous event at Talladega Speedway.
Busch, who just turned 23, has two Cup wins (Atlanta and Talladega) plus one pole, three victories in the Nationwide Series, and two Truck wins.
Barry Schmoyer, President of the Driver of the Year Foundation, said “I can’t remember when a driver has been so successful across the board in three series simultaneously.”

In the voting Busch took 14 first-place ballots, and none lower than a third
place totaling 142 points. Cup rival Roush/Fenway driver Carl Edwards’ three wins earned him one first-place vote and a total of 72 points.

Danica Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing, whose record-setting first win in top level IndyCar Series for a woman, garnered two first place votes and totaled 51 points in third place.

Ashley Force, daughter of the 1996 DRIVER OF THE YEAR beat her famous father, John Force last week in Atlanta in NHRA’s funny car division was fourth in the voting with 49 points.

A total of 17 drivers scored points in the first quarter voting, including fifth place Jason Meyers, in the World of Outlaws who won three of the first six races.

In its’ 42nd year, the DRIVER OF THE YEAR title is unique. A panel of 17 leading journalists from across the U.S. and a fan vote on Speedtv.com determine the winner. In quarterly voting, points are awarded on a declining 9, 6, 4,3,2,1 basis. Gordon will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch to be presented at a later date.