NASCAR: Winners And Losers From Kansas

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Sep 25, 2016; Loudon, NH, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch during the New England 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports /

Winner: Kurt Busch

Let’s be honest. Kurt Busch hasn’t had that great of a Chase so far. He made it out of the Round of 16 after two top-15’s and a top-5, then he finished eighth at Charlotte and 13th at Kansas.

But somehow, he’s managed to stay out of trouble and stay above the cut line. In fact, heading into Talladega, he’ll be in fifth place on the Chase grid which is good enough for a 17-point lead over ninth-place Austin Dillon.

Busch only has one win this season as he managed to make it to Victory Lane at the first Pocono race of the year, but he’s doing something similar to what we saw Ryan Newman do in 2014 and something we saw Jeff Gordon do throughout the first five races of the Chase in 2015.

Busch is putting together solid finishes which is helping him stay right in the middle of the standings. He’s not contending for wins but he’s also not suffering from misfortune like other drivers have.

For what it’s worth, he used a back-up car in today’s race, and even after falling below 20th at one point, he still managed to make it back into the top-15. He could make a silent run at Homestead should he continue to operate under the radar and avoid trouble.

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