NASCAR: Kyle Busch pulls off historical feat not achieved since 1990

With his eighth place finish in the ninth race of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, Kyle Busch pulled off a historical feat that had not been achieved since the 1990 season.

When Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch won last Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he became the first driver in the last 27 NASCAR Cup Series seasons to finish each of a season’s first eight races in the top 10.

Busch entered the season’s ninth race at Richmond Raceway with an average finishing position of 3.38 through the season’s first eight races. He had earned three victories and recorded an additional three top three finishes in these races, and he had only finished outside of the top six in one of them.

The last driver who reeled off eight consecutive top 10 finishes to start a season was Terry Labonte, who pulled it off in the 1992 season. Labonte, who failed to finish the season’s ninth race at Talladega Superspeedway, recorded an average finishing position of 7.13 in the first eight races of this season.

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His top finishes during this eight-race span were fourth place finishes, which he recorded in the races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

But while Labonte’s streak of top 10 finishes to start a season stopped at eight races, Busch’s has since advanced to nine, as he finished the season’s ninth race, the Toyota Owners 400, in eighth place in his #18 Toyota.

As a result, Busch is the first driver in the last 29 seasons to finish each of a season’s first nine races in the top 10. The last driver who pulled off this historical feat was Morgan Shepherd, who pulled it off in the 1990 season.

But if the 33-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native wants to match or even top Shepherd’s mark, he still has a few races to go to do it, as Shepherd opened up the 1990 season with 11 consecutive top 10 finishes.

During this 11-race span to open up the 1990 season, Shepherd recorded an average finishing position of 6.27 and a top finish of second place in the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Through the 2019 season’s first nine races, Busch’s average finishing position is 3.89.

The next three races on this year’s schedule are set to take place at Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Kansas Speedway, respectively.

The race at Talladega Superspeedway will likely prove to be Busch’s biggest challenge in terms of keeping his top 10 streak alive, as he has not had a ton of success there over the years. He has won only one race there in 27 starts, and his average finishing position at the track is a disappointing 20.70. He has recorded only seven top 10 finishes there.

Will Kyle Busch finish the GEICO 500 in the top 10 to extend his top 10 finish streak to 10 races to open up the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 28.