NASCAR Cup Series: 5 drivers poised for low-key championship runs
By Asher Fair
Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch has thrived in his first season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. His average finish of 10.05 ranks third among all drivers, as he trails only his brother Kyle and Joey Logano, the two drivers who are pulling away from everybody else in the championship standings, in this category.
The 40-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native hasn’t won more than one race in a season since he won two races in the 2015 season, and he hasn’t won more than two races in a season since he won three races all the way back in the 2005 season.
Having already earned his maiden victory driving for Chip Ganassi Racing at Kentucky Speedway, you could say that he has met his quota for the year.
But even if he doesn’t win another race this season, he is still in a position to potentially make a deep playoff run to give himself a chance to win the championship when the Championship 4 rolls around.
Kurt has lived in younger brother Kyle’s shadow for several seasons. Despite the fact that he is nearly seven years older than Kyle and has driven on a full-time basis in the Cup Series for four more years, Kurt has managed to win 31 races while Kyle has won 55, including 31 since the 2013 season alone.
In their 15 seasons as full-time drivers together, they have recorded three 1-2 finishes. Two of these three 1-2 finishes have taken place this year after Kyle beat Kurt at Sonoma Raceway in the 2015 season.
Their first 1-2 finish of the 2019 season resulted in a victory for the Kyle at Bristol Motor Speedway back in early April, but the second one at Kentucky Speedway resulted in a Kurt victory by a mere 0.076 seconds over the 2015 champion in what was one of the most thrilling finishes in NASCAR history.
Never before had a more exuberant “Hell yeah!” been exclaimed in NASCAR before Kurt made that happen after winning this race. The 2004 champion is clearly charging hard for his second championship, and he wants everybody to know that he can win it — most importantly, before his little brother wins his.