In years past, Kyle Busch would carry frustration and disappointment from one week to the next, clearly affecting his performance. However, in 2009 the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is looking to focus on one week at a time and has his eyes set on the big picture 35 races from now in Homestead.

After leading a race-high 88 laps in Sunday's Daytona 500, Busch was taken out in a wreck caused by the lapped cars of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers. Confident he had the car to beat; the 23-year-old could do nothing but look at his wrecked race car and wonder what could have been. Busch was frustrated to say the least.

"I was frustrated going into this race, so this is about a 15 on a 10 scale," Busch said after his day was ended early.

A front runner in each event during the Daytona Speedweeks, Busch found victory lane in his Gatorade Duel 150 race, but was unable to win when it mattered most. The kid they call "Rowdy" tried unsuccessfully to move Todd Bodine going into three on the final lap in the truck race, and attempted the same move the following day on Tony Stewart in the Nationwide Series event with even worse results. Sunday's letdown simply made things more disappointing for the driver that felt "100 percent" confident he would have won his first Daytona 500.

"I think we were the best car out there," Busch said of Sunday's race. "Us, the 24 (Jeff Gordon) was strong, the 11 (Denny Hamlin) was strong, a couple other guys that we were battling with, but felt like our car was the car to beat. We were awfully good and just running out front and biding our time. I don't think we fell worse than sixth or fifth the whole time out there. Just a really sad feeling."

With little time to dwell on the misfortunes that occurred in Daytona, the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota is looking forward to this weekend's event at the Auto Club Speedway. Returning to the track he earned his first Cup Series victory at - becoming the youngest driver to win in NASCAR history - Busch is confident he can put Daytona behind him and contend once again.

Learning for the disappointing finish to his 2008 campaign, the Las Vegas-native understands that in order to win championships one has to focus on the big picture and not lose sight of that goal. Setbacks and frustrations that may have previously shaken this driver for weeks seem to have been left in Daytona.

"Daytona was certainly disappointing and frustrating," Busch admitted. "But the season is so long that you can't let one race bug you once you are on to the next race. Last week was last week, and this week is this week. Just like putting last year behind us, we've already put Daytona behind us and we're focused on what we can do to run well at California and be in a position to win this week for Interstate Batteries. You can't change last week. It is what it is."

Perhaps there is no better track to help Busch put Daytona behind him than the Auto Club Speedway. Busch has seventeen starts in all three series at the Auto Club Speedway and has won in the Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series at the Fontana, California track. In nine Sprint Cup Series events at the 2-mile D-shaped oval, Busch has completed all but one lap - 2,254 of a possible 2,255 - and has one victory (2005), three top-5s and seven top-10s.

"That place is tough," Busch said of the Auto Club Speedway. "It's really a hard racetrack to get hold of, now, especially when it's hot and the sun is out. There are two completely different types of racing when you run the top versus the bottom groove. You can run from the top to the bottom, but when you run the bottom, you really feel like you're puttering around the racetrack. You feel like you aren't making up any time on the bottom, but when you are running the top groove, you feel like you're getting the job done. The guys who run the bottom have a little bit more patience and handle it better than the guys who are on the gas on top."

Never one to shy from being on the gas, Busch is confident he has matured and will be able to put last week's unfortunate incident behind him. Determined to make up for last year's disappointing finish to the season, the driver of the No. 18 is more focused in 2009 and seems to have grown up just a bit.