Kyle Busch had won three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races before last Sunday’s race at Talladega. Can he pick up where he left off at Dover?
Heading into the GEICO 500 at the four-turn, 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama last Sunday, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch had won three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races in his #18 Toyota. He won at Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway, respectively.
However, he never really gave himself much of a chance to win at Talladega. In fact, he claimed that he had better odds to win Powerball than he did to win his fourth consecutive race at Talladega. As it turns out, he was right, as he ended up finishing the race in 13th place after starting in 19th.
But now the Cup Series heads back to what Busch considers the “real” race tracks. There will be no restrictor plate racing this Sunday (or Monday) in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at the four-turn, 1.0-mile Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
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Can Busch win his fourth non-restrictor plate race in a row?
In addition to the fact that he is set to start the race in fourth place, his statistics would suggest that he is more than capable of winning at Dover. He won the most recent race at the track last October by passing Chase Elliott and robbing him of his first career Cup Series victory with just over one lap to go, and he has been the driver to beat so far this season.
In the eight non-restrictor plate races so far this season, Busch has finished on the podium in seven of them. In fact, he has finished on the podium in the last seven of them, as his lone non-podium finish in a non-restrictor plate race was his seventh place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was the first non-restrictor plate race of the season.
In tracks that are roughly 1.0-mile or shorter, Busch has two victories and two second place finishes so far this season. As previously stated, he won at Bristol (0.533-mile track) and Richmond (0.75-mile track). He finished in second at ISM Raceway (1.022-mile track) and at Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile).
Will any of these facts and figures really matter when the green flag flies in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism? Not at all; each race is its own race, and races are not won on past history. However, what these facts and figures suggest is that if he avoids trouble, Kyle Busch will certainly be tough to beat at Dover given what he has done in recent non-restrictor plate races, particularly those at short race tracks.
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Will Kyle Busch win his fourth consecutive non-restrictor plate race in the 2018 AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway? Tune in to the live broadcast of the race to find out. It is set to begin at 2:00 pm ET on Fox Sports 1.