NASCAR: Breaking Down The Final Four Drivers

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Busch

2015 Stats:

• 24 starts
• One pole (Pocono)
• Four wins (Sonoma, Kentucky, Loudon, Indianapolis)
• 11 top-five’s
• 15 top-10’s

Homestead-Miami Stats:

• 10 starts
• Zero wins
• One top-five
• Three top-10’s

It does seem a bit lopsided that Busch is in the Final Four come championship weekend at Homestead-Miami. Thanks to injuries suffered in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona, Busch missed the first 11 Sprint Cup races of 2015. Many believed it would take Busch awhile to get back to form, but not only did he rush his recovery, he returned to form almost immediately.

He returned to Victory Lane at Sonoma in only his fifth start of 2015 and went on a tear those next four weeks. Daytona wasn’t as kind, as he was caught up in a couple of incidents, but he managed to win three straight afterwards and never looked back. He made the top-30 with ease, and thanks to his Chase waiver he managed to be one of the top seeds when the Chase began. Slips at Loudon and Charlotte haven’t been enough to derail him.

Homestead will be a big hurdle for the No. 18 crew. He has never done well there save for a few bright runs, with the best coming in 2012 when he led 191 laps and finished fourth. Aside from that, runs like this have been more definitive of his luck there.

Then again, this is the best Busch has been during the Chase, and he seems on the verge of becoming the more mature driver he’s been destined to be. He’s been determined like never before since returning from injury, and we’ve seen great things out of him this season. He may very well run best when it counts.

Next: The Defending Champion