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When sizing up this year's Busch Series contenders, there's Martin Truex--and then there's everyone else.

Truex clinched the 2004 Busch title at Darlington, with one race to spare. After the season finale at Homestead, Truex, 24, had a 230-point margin over second-place driver Kyle Busch. In his first full Busch season, Truex won six races and seven poles and finished in the top five 17 times.

With Busch leaving for the greener pastures of the Nextel Cup Series, is anyone good enough to catch Truex?

'I think there's a lot of competition out there," Truex says. "A few new guys are coming in. Shane (Hmiel) will be tough. A friend of mine, Denny Hamlin, is taking over in the Gibbs car, and Reed Sorenson showed he could run up front at the end of last year. You have some new guys, and then some of the same old guys who have been around for a while will be tough too."

One driver Truex forgot is Carl Edwards. He is replacing Greg Biffle, who, with the help of crew chief Brad Parrott, finished third in the Busch standings last year while driving the Roush Racing No. 60 Ford. Edwards, though, doesn't have much Busch experience.

Truex had a similar lack of experience heading into last season; he had competed in only 15 Busch races. Led by crew chief Kevin Manion, the No. 8 Chevrolet posted an average starting position of 5.9 and an average finish of 7.5 while completing 98.8 percent of the laps possible. All the key people are returning to the team, so look for Truex to repeat what his boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., accomplished in 1998 and '99: consecutive Busch titles.

"Everybody's going to be gunning for us," Truex says. "That's what we did last year. We came in last year, and no one thought we'd be able to do what we did, and we did it. I'm not counting anyone out. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

TSN's PRESEASON POLL

(1) Martin Truex. Engrave the trophy now. (2) Carl Edwards. The brightest new talent in Cup is the ultimate Buschwacker. (3) Clint Bowyer. Childress Racing protege will be a weekly contender when under control. (4) Shane Hmiel. Comeback kid has something to prove--as does his team. (5) Kenny Wallace. Herman returns with a championship-caliber crew and crew chief. (6) Jason Keller. Busch journeyman has a new team and a new opportunity to sparkle. (7) J.J. Yeley. Consistent car control will pay off in Gibbs equipment. (8) Reed Sorenson. Ganassi backing will bring this youngster up to speed. (9) Justin Labonte. With Hendrick help, his victory last year will be the first of many. (10) David Green. Former champion is trying to get back to the top.

Busch Series schedule

Date           Track

February 19    Daytona International Speedway
February 26    California Speedway
March 6        Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
March 12       Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 19       Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 26       Nashville Superspeedway
April 2        Bristol Motor Speedway
April 16       Texas Motor Speedway
April 22       Phoenix International Raceway
April 30       Talladega Superspeedway
May 6          Darlington Raceway
May 13         Richmond International Raceway
May 28         Lowe's Motor Speedway
June 4         Dover International Speedway
June 11        Nashville Superspeedway
June 18        Kentucky Speedway
June 25        The Milwaukee Mile
July 1         Daytona International Speedway
July 9         Chicagoland Speedway
July 16        New Hampshire International Speedway
July 23        Pikes Peak International Raceway
July 30        Gateway International Raceway
August 6       Indianapolis Raceway Park
August 13      Watkins Glen International
August 20      Michigan International Speedway
August 26      Bristol Motor Speedway
September 3    California Speedway
September 9    Richmond International Raceway
September 24   Dover International
October 8      Kansas Speedway
October 14     Lowe's Motor Speedway
October 22     Memphis Motorsports Park
November 5     Texas Motor Speedway
November 12    Phoenix International Raceway
November 19    Homestead-Miami Speedway

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