NASCAR: 3 drivers who could sneak into the playoffs
By Asher Fair
Drivers who could sneak into the playoffs: No. 2 – Kurt Busch
It’s hard to refer to the possibility of a former NASCAR Cup Series champion, one who hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2012, making the playoffs as “sneaking into the playoffs”, but that’s exactly what this scenario could produce.
Prior to the race at Sonoma Raceway, Kurt Busch’s 2021 season was a complete disaster. He was on a run of 12 consecutive finishes of 13th place or worse, including six results outside of the top 20, and he sat well outside of the playoff picture.
His best finish of the season was a fourth place finish at the Daytona International Speedway road course which came as a result of a late pit strategy call that happened to pay off amid the late chaos. Up until that point, his race had been about as chaotic as it could possibly be without him crashing out. His only other top 12 result was an eighth place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
But Busch has worked his way up to 17th place in the point standings as the top driver outside of the playoff picture, and he sits just 24 points behind Chris Buescher. Busch finished in sixth place at Sonoma Raceway and backed that up with an eighth place finish at Nashville Superspeedway, a race that saw him secure his first stage win of the year.
The fact that teammate Ross Chastain, who is separated by Busch in the point standings by only JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto, finished those two races in the top seven as well should serve as a huge shot in the arm for Chip Ganassi Racing as they prepare for the regular season’s final nine races.
Maybe Busch’s eight-year playoff streak, which is tied for the second longest active streak in the Cup Series, won’t be coming to an end this year after all.