With the benefit of hindsight, it seems an accomplishment even more herculean than it was at the time. Kurt Busch didn't just win NASCAR's premier-series championship in 2004, he held off a driver who would soon stake his claim as the greatest of his era. That he edged Jimmie Johnson by eight points -- at the time, the closest finish in history -- feels even more impressive in retrospect, given the onslaught to come. More...