NASCAR Cup Series: Is it panic time for Kyle Busch?

Kyle Busch has just one win in his last 42 NASCAR Cup Series starts, including none in the 2020 season. Is it panic time for the two-time champion?

This past Sunday, New Hampshire Motor Speedway saw yet another NASCAR Cup Series race lead to the dejection of two-time champion Kyle Busch, who entered the 2020 season on a streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons, three shy of the record set by seven-time champion Richard Petty from 1960 to 1977.

Through the first 20 races of the 2020 season, Busch has yet to drive his #18 Toyota to victory lane, and he hasn’t shown regular signs of the speed needed to contend for race wins, much less another title.

He has just one stage win, with that coming at Kansas Speedway last month, and one playoff point because of it.

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If the playoffs were to begin today, he would have just two playoff points, as he would be awarded another one due to the fact that he sits in 10th place in the point standings.

Meanwhile, teammate Denny Hamlin has won a series-high five races and collected a series-high 29 playoff points on those five wins and four stage wins this season. He would be awarded eight additional playoff points ahead of the playoffs due to the fact that he sits in third place in the point standings.

With just six races remaining before the playoffs begin, including two this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, is it panic time for Busch?

He sits in an uncharacteristic 13th place in the playoff picture, 94 points above the playoff cut line. While upset winners could potentially even derail his playoff chances, him at least qualifying for the postseason should not be an issue.

But even with a lack of playoff points, the playoffs still may not be an issue for him.

It is worth considering several statistics about Busch’s recent history when it comes to the playoffs before writing him off this soon.

Sure, Busch does only have one win in his last 42 starts, a stretch that dates back more than 14 months to early June of 2019. But he won when it mattered most: he won the 2019 season finale to secure his second title.

He entered that race on a 21-race win drought. His active win drought isn’t even that long quite yet.

Additionally, not too long ago, Busch also went 0 for 20 to start a season, and he was on a much longer win drought than he is now. He ended the 2016 season 0 for 16, and he started the 2017 season 0 for 20.

He hadn’t won a race in over a year when he won at Pocono Raceway in July of that year. But he pulled it off, and he was hard to beat after that en route to a runner-up finish in the championship standings with five wins.

Once he gets the monkey off of his back, he is capable of reeling off several trips to victory lane in a short span of time.

Oh, and even in 2016 when he went 0 for 16 to close out the year, he still managed to qualify for the Championship 4. We also can’t forget 2015, when he entered the season finale on a 15-race win drought and won that race to secure his first title.

There is no need to panic for the #18 team. A lack of playoff points hurts, but that could change in a heartbeat with a win or two, given the fact that only four drivers currently have more than 10, and Busch’s ability to win at any track should serve him well throughout the playoffs.

There is a reason he has been to five consecutive Championship 4 rounds, despite having experienced numerous lengthy win droughts over the last several years.

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In fact, Kevin Harvick, who comfortably leads the point standings and has won four times this year, recently told Beyond the Flag that he still sees Busch and Hamlin as his two biggest threats to win this year’s title, despite the fact that Busch has still not taken the checkered flag since last November.

Can you blame him? There is no way anybody should be sleeping on Rowdy just yet.

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