LOUDON - NASCAR's champion in 1983, and a racer who remembers an era when just a handful of drivers were realistically competing for Sprint Cup wins each week, Bobby Allison holds the sport's modern pilots in high esteem.

He respects them, admires them, and appreciates how tough it is to emerge from a field in which upwards of 35 cars get to the green flag with hopes of leaving later with the checkers. He roots for a few in particular, too. Jimmie Johnson is a favorite. So is Jeff Gordon, as he's been for a long time.

But the first name that comes up when Allison is asked which of today's drivers he likes is the man a lot of NASCAR fans love to hate.

"I enjoy Kyle Busch right now," Allison said yesterday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he was visiting old friend Bob Bahre.

"Kyle Busch is so exuberant and enthusiastic, I've got to feel good about that. He does such a good job in the car. He stays positive, too, when people get all down on him."

Bold and brash, but undeniably exciting, Busch's attitude can sometimes make him abrasive, and hasn't always endeared him to fans - though his talent and determination are certainly qualities a racer like Allison can appreciate.

So while Allison was among those who didn't approve of Busch's victory lane antics after a recent Nationwide Series win at Nashville, when he smashed the guitar that serves as the track's trophy, it doesn't diminish his appreciation for a guy who's already got 15 Cup wins and turned only 24 last month.

"I mean, I'm mad at him for breaking the guitar - but I'm not going to harpoon him," Allison said. "I don't think everyone has to think everything that everybody else does is exactly right, because we're all human. So I can dislike him ruining the guitar, and still like him."

Allison said he also appreciates Busch's ability to get in a driver's seat - any driver's seat - and compete for victories. He's currently ninth in Cup series points driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Gibbs is also furnishing the ride in which he leads the Nationwide Series, though last year he finished sixth on that tour while running for three different owners.

His Truck Series entry is funded by Billy Ballew, a different organization altogether, so while his 51 total triumphs in NASCAR's top three national series is impressive by itself, Allison said its variety makes it even more so.

"If they were all Gibbs vehicles that'd be one thing, but sometimes it's the Gibbs Nationwide car and sometimes it's not. I don't think it's ever a Gibbs truck," said the driver who's third all-time with 85 Cup wins. "He just goes and does the deal."

New face, same name

It'll be nothing new to see a Truex lead the field to green for today's Camping World Series East race at NHMS. But there's a new twist on the family tradition.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Martin Truex Sr., and his brother, Martin Truex Jr., 17-year-old Ryan Truex turned the fastest lap in yesterday's qualifying for the Heluva Good! 125, and will start on the pole in pursuit of matching another feat achieved at Loudon by his elders.

"My dad and my brother both got poles here and went on to win," said Truex, whose brother won from the inside of the front row in 2003, and has since won on the Cup Series. "I got a pole, so hopefully I can go on to win the race."

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