You either love him or you hate him but no matter which side of the fence you are on, most will agree Kyle Busch has brought character and a certain flair to NASCAR that hasn’t been seen in a while.
Busch has been outspoken, controversial and not afraid to show his emotions. He backs up his bravado on the track as well, winning four Sprint Cup Series races in 2009 so far heading into Saturday nights Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
But can he win a championship?
He’s firmly in control of the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship having won six races in that series this year and leading the point standings by 221.
Despite his wins in the Sprint Cup Series - he’s tied with Mark Martin for the series lead - Busch is currently 14th in points and in serious jeopardy of missing the cutoff for NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship. Heading into Richmond, Busch knows he has a very simple ‘to-do ‘ list.
“We just go to Richmond with this weekend's task at hand, try to do the best we can,” Busch said Wednesday. “Ultimately win the race if we can or get the best possible finish and try to get the most points out of there in order to get ourselves into the Chase.”
Busch certainly has a good chance for victory. One of his four wins this year came at Richmond when the series first visited here in the spring.
Some might argue that despite sharing the lead for the most wins in the Series, the NASCAR points system, whether the old or the new format for the Chase, rewards consistency over a season and that’s something Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team haven’t shown all year. Even Busch himself admits that.
“It's not these two races, Atlanta or this race coming up at Richmond, that's what's going to put us in the Chase,” Busch said. “It's more of the season that we've had that's kept us out of it.”
Busch will certainly need some help to make it into the Chase Saturday night.
He’s currently 37 points behind Matt Kenseth in12th, and needs to gain 17 points on Brian Vickers in 13th and 37 points on Kenseth to clinch.
So while it could happen, Busch will need some bad luck to befall some others. Busch knows that and was uncharacteristically humble about his chances Wednesday.
“Unfortunately we haven't had some of the best cars this year,” he said. “I haven't done some of the best driving I've needed to do this year. But we're trying to get back on par with the way we need to do things. If this weekend is a success, we win the race, still don't make the Chase, we did all we could.”
So here’s the question, based on his performance this year, and at Richmond in the spring, can Busch pull it off and make the Chase? Or will Vickers of Kenseth be the ones to take the 12th and final spot in this years Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup?
Recent Articles:
It's about time the number 3 was back in NASCAR
Note to Danica: Welcome to NASCAR, prepare to be humbled
Waltrip spokesperson fires back at Canadian businessman
Allmendinger linked to US Formula One team
Comments
It's tough to say what will happen. The team is certainly capable of finishing well enough to get in. But, they certainly had their challenges last week. Sooooooooooooooooooooo, I'll say they make it. And it will be at Vicker's and Kenseth's expense.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!