In 2010, Kyle Busch started the Chase for the Sprint Cup in third place. He had won three races and was one of the favorites to win it all. The ten races that made up the Chase proved to be struggles for Busch. He would only score two top five finishes in the final ten races and when the dust settled he finished the Chase in 8th.
Fast forward a year and after two races it looks like history might be repeating itself for Busch.
He entered the Chase as the number one seed, with four victories on the season. But after two races Busch finds himself in seventh. After finishing 22nd at Chicagoland after his team miscalculated their fuel mileage Busch hoped for a strong showing at the makings of a turnaround at New Hampshire Sunday.
It wasn’t to be. After starting 8th, Busch was able to make a brief appearance inside the top ten. He began slipping back however and after several battles, most notably with Jimmie Johnson, Busch could only hang on and hope for a decent finish. He ended the day in 11th.
“We got the car to where we were fast in the early part of the run, but we fell off a little too much as the run went along,” Busch said. “Our car was good entry and center, but it was just so tight in the center all day long that it made it really hard. Track position was important today and I just have to thank the guys for hanging in there with me and fighting hard all day long. We survived and we’ll go on to Dover which is usually a much better place for me.”
Despite his poor finish however, Busch was actually able to gain two spots in the standings; mainly to the misfortunes of others ahead of him though.
Over the course of the last few seasons, Busch has shown early season strength only to fade at the end when it matters most. So far two races into the season, it appears that history is repeating itself and Busch is quickly fading from favorite to backmarker.
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