DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Let's face it.

At times, Kyle Busch appears supremely overconfident. But he's clearly the best Sprint Cup driver on the circuit right now. He has eight NASCAR victories -- including three wins each in the Cup and Nationwide series.

He can't lose even when he's trying.

Busch dominated the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night. It didn't matter that on several occasions he nearly put his Toyota through the wall.

"He's Houdini man," third-place Jeff Gordon said during the postrace press conference. "I can't tell you how many times he tried to put his car through the wall."

At least five or six times, according to Busch. And he earned every stripe.

Busch pushed his Toyota to the limit, gunning through the corners with relative ease even as he trashed his crew for giving him a "pathetic" ride. He powered down only when necessary -- like rolling onto pit road and victory lane.

"I have a great race team," Busch said as he tipped his cap to crew chief Steve Addington and team President J.D. Gibbs. "Fortunately for me, I just didn't hit [the wall] hard enough to where I was able to come through here and still win the thing."

Busch overcame several mishaps, most notably a lost lug nut that earned him a penalty that put him at the end of the line in the 23rd position. It didn't matter as he charged through the field to regain the lead nearly 100 laps later.

All the time, he kept complaining and criticizing his crew.

Afterward, he shrugged it off by jokingly asking Addington, "Steve does it hurt your feelings when I trash you?"

Addington said, "If it hurt my feelings, I believe I'd would have quit a long time ago."

Addington and Gibbs knew what they were getting the moment JGR signed Busch to a contract last year when Hendrick Motorsports kicked him to the curb in favor of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"His personality fits with this race team," Addington said, "and that's all I care about. He's very passionate about winning."

Busch has been at his best and worst in the spotlight.

On the racetrack, he's been better than the rest. Off the racetrack, he has sometimes projected a pompous persona that rubs most fans the wrong way.

"If he had a choice, I'm sure he wouldn't want to be the villain," Gordon said. "I know he's a good guy, but he just puts himself in positions that follow him."

Busch, who previously led only one lap here, led 169 laps in eclipsing the race record held by Dale Earnhardt since 1993. Busch, who has managed to put even teammate Tony Stewart in his shadow, covered the 367-lap race with an average speed of 140.350 mph.

But he appeared guarded as a bevy of superlatives were tossed his way.

"You have to stay humble in this sport," said Busch, who at 23 became the youngest driver to win at Darlington Raceway. "You can't just think you can win every weekend."

But he's won something for the past six weekends -- including a Late Model race at Southside Speedway.

"They are just in a league of their own," South Boston's Jeff Burton said.
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