Well, why not?

In the first half of the season, Kyle Busch made an emphatic statement, winning a Sprint Cup-best five races and grabbing the lead in the championship standings.

Now that the Cup Series is starting its cycle of return visits to two-race venues with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Busch has no intention of letting up on his unrelenting message to Rick Hendrick -- that the owner of the sport’s premier organization made a mistake in dismissing him from the No. 5 Chevrolet at the end of last season to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88.

That Busch has found a comfortable home at Joe Gibbs Racing and instant chemistry with crew chief Steve Addington has done little to abate the bitterness that often bubbles to the surface when Busch talks about his former team. That his replacement in the No. 5 car, Casey Mears, has been told he won’t be driving for Hendrick next year is little consolation.

With his first Cup victory on a road course two weeks ago at Infineon, Busch is on pace to win 10 races this season, the number defending series champ Jimmie Johnson notched for Hendrick last year.

Busch’s raised profile has shifted some of the limelight away from teammate Tony Stewart, who is looking at other opportunities, including team ownership. The persistent rumor has Stewart buying a piece of Haas CNC Racing and running his own team, with equipment and technical support from Hendrick.