Captain Contradiction wins at Infineon

Sonoma, California – Call him Captain Contradiction.

Kurt Busch that is.

You can also call him a dominating winner after he wheeled his bright-yellow, Pennzoil, No. 22 Dodge to victory in today's Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the Infineon Raceway road course.

In Victory Lane, Busch told us the obvious, that he had an "unbelievable set-up" on his car, which left the competition behind after every restart. On long runs, some cars came within a second of Busch, but he appeared to be toying with them.

At the end of the day, Busch's car looked pretty much like it did when it rolled to the starting line on a pleasant, sunny day in the Wine Country. Competitor cars looked like wounded warriors.

Busch capped off a remarkable month that also saw him post three consecutive pole positions. And he erased some of the ill will that has been a hallmark of his past.

Contradictions? Paradox? Busch knows them well.

He can be the most charming interview on the circuit, with kind, thoughtful comments. When his quick temper takes over, he can look as nasty as a rotting cactus.

Busch has said some of the most respectful things that can be said of his fellow drivers. Other times, he raged at an alleged offender in the garage area like a man missing his senses.

More of the same this year. During a dreadful race at Richmond, Virginia, Busch was overheard ripping Team Penske on the car radio. Not a good move to take The Godfather of racing team owners to task during a race.

But in recent weeks, as things were going good, Busch had nothing but praise for the Penske crew and organization.

Raging genius? Loose cannon? For my money, a little of both.

For all the monster publicity younger brother Kyle Busch receives, remember that brother Kurt has something Kyle does not -- namely a Sprint Cup season championship.

Yeah, this Kurt Busch guy is pretty talented. And right now, he's on a roll.

Enjoy that bottle of Napa Valley merlot tonight Kurt.