NASCAR: Kyle Busch Is Having His Best Chase Yet

With one race left before the NASCAR finale at Homestead-Miami, Kyle Busch is strongly in position to make his first serious run at the Sprint Cup championship after several seasons of being far separated from the rest of the title contenders. Busch, who missed the first 11 races of 2015 due to injuries suffered in the Xfinity season opener at Daytona, has since won four races and sits second in points going into Phoenix. In previous years at this point in the season Busch has normally been far removed from title contention, so to be second in points with two races left in the year shows that the problems that normally plague Busch’s Chase run have been nonexistent in 2015.

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Although it looked like Busch was going to miss most of the season well into July, he actually made an early return in May with an 11th-place run at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A couple of crashes at Dover and Michigan left his Chase hopes in doubt, but once he began reeling off wins at Sonoma, Kentucky, Loudon, and Indianapolis, he was able to pass the 30th-place points threshold with ease. Once he finally made it into the top-30 in points, he was able to keep his Chase spot and was able to hang in there once Richmond rolled around.

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Busch’s modus operandi when the NASCAR Chase rolls around is usually a strong start only to fade out as the Chase progresses. He’s finished no higher than fourth in points, but that was after a solid Chase start that faded as it went on. Instead, in 2015 he has been resilient from whatever troubles he may have. For example, in the second race of the Chase, at Loudon, a cut tire sent him into the wall and a 37th-place finish. Any other year, the No. 18 crew would have been down for the count. But the next week, a runner-up finish to Kevin Harvick at Dover kept his Chase hopes alive.

That has been the very definition of Busch in this Chase. He’s been consistent and focused, which is more than what could be said of his previous events. Largely in part of his drive to make the Chase after his return from injury, it appears that he’s learned to keep his focus behind the wheel, which explains why he’s largely been one of the more consistent drivers in 2015. He’s been under the radar, and that has allowed him the ability to focus more on the task at hand. With the exception of Charlotte and Talladega, along with Loudon, Busch’s worst finish in the Chase was ninth at Chicago.

Considering he has won at Phoenix before and holds 12 top-10s in 20 starts, his only real hurdle will be Homestead-Miami. In 10 starts he only holds three top-10s, with an average finish of 23.1. He’s had a season like no other in 2015, so he may perform strongly in the finale, but he’s going to have to work at it. Still, he’s run well there, like in 2012 when he 191 of the 267 laps and finished fourth. He’s had troubles derail otherwise good runs there, but he knows how to get around Homestead. If he manages to keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble, then he will be in great championship shape.