NASCAR: Kyle Busch pulls off another historical feat not achieved since 1990
By Asher Fair
For the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race, Kyle Busch pulled off a historical feat that had not previously been achieved since the 1990 season.
With his 10th place finish in the 10th race of the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, the GEICO 500, at Talladega Superspeedway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch pulled off another historical feat that had not previously been achieved since the 1990 season.
Busch pulled off this historical feat just one race after pulling off a historical feat of the same nature dating back to the 1990 season as well, but this one was on a slightly larger scale.
The 33-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native has still not finished outside of the top 10 through the first 10 races of the season. He has recorded three victories, one second place finish, two third place finishes, one sixth place finish, one eighth place finish and two 10th place finishes for an average finishing position of 4.50.
Busch has not finished a race outside of the top 10 since he finished in 17th place in last season’s round of 8 playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway in November, meaning that he is set to enter this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway on a 12-race top 10 finishing streak.
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But what is most notable about Busch’s top 10 finishing streak is the fact that prior to this season, no driver had opened up a season by recording 10 consecutive top 10 finishes since Morgan Shepherd did so to open up the 1990 season.
In fact, Shepherd opened up the 1990 season with 11 consecutive top 10 finishes, so a top 10 finish by Busch in this weekend’s race would put his mark on par with Shepherd’s.
In the first 10 races of the 1990 season, Shepherd recorded one second place finish, one third place finish, two fifth place finishes, two seventh place finishes, three eighth place finishes and one 10th place finish for an average finishing position of 6.30.
Shepherd went on to finish in sixth place in the season’s 11th race before his streak of consecutive top 10 finishes to open up the season came to end at 11 races when he was forced to retire in the season’s 12th race before officially being scored in 29th.
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Will Kyle Busch tie Morgan Shepherd’s mark with his 11th consecutive top 10 finish to open up the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season by finishing in the top 10 in this weekend’s race, the Gander RV 400, at Dover International Speedway? This race is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 5, and it is set to be broadcast live from the 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) oval in Dover, Delaware beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.