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Kyle Busch holds a tenuous advantage of a single point in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, the slim margin separating the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion from advancement and elimination.
Busch sits fourth among the eight still vying for the 2016 crown and second among the six who will head to Phoenix International Raceway with no guarantees.
But don’t expect the No. 18 Toyota, constructed in the confines of Joe Gibbs Racing‘s headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina, to arrive for this week’s penultimate Chase race with “Fragile. Handle With Care” emblazoned where the familiar logos of sponsor M&M’s presently reside.
Busch and his team haven’t gone into “protection mode.” A one-point advantage is tissue-thin. Two JGR teammates are among those residing outside the cut-off line and friendships only go so far.
A much more impressive note concerning Busch, crew chief Adam Stevens and the No. 18 team is the number of top-five finishes in this year’s Chase. Sunday night’s on-the-button fifth-place result in the AAA Texas 500 was the sixth top-five for Busch in eight Chase races this season. It was particularly impressive in light of his initial start two days earlier, when a skirmish with the wall during practice sent the team hustling to bring out a back-up entry.
The back-up was no more bullet-proof — it was a one-eyed ride for much of the race after debris struck the right-front, necessitating a pit-road patch job.
Fifth in light of all that reinforces the talent and determination of a defending champion and his team.
Shades of 2015? A year ago, Busch sported an average finish of 11.6 through the first eight Chase races while also without a Chase victory.
He finished fourth at Phoenix, then went on to outrun Kevin Harvick for the win and the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Through this year’s first eight races, the average finish is a rock-solid 8.0. No wins, but still …
“We are in the hunt,” Busch offered after rain halted the Texas race 41 laps short of its scheduled 334-lap distance.
The JGR organization has made significant strides since Busch’s return from injury in mid-2015. Perhaps nowhere has that been more evident than at Phoenix, site of Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).
While Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) has won five of the last six races at the 1-mile venue, JGR drivers were second, third and fourth there in this year’s spring race. In the fall race of ’15, three finished in the top 12, including Busch, who was fourth.
“We’ve worked a ton about everywhere, but especially at Phoenix,” Busch said.
Phoenix hasn’t been his most productive track — Busch has only one win there, and it took place in 2005 while he was competing for Hendrick Motorsports.
A victory in the desert would guarantee another shot at the title, however if a win isn’t in the cards, yet another top-five finish could accomplish the same thing.
That hasn’t been a problem. But top fives do not come to those who wait.
“We’ve had all the finishes that we need thus far,” he acknowledged, “we just have to be able to go out there one more week and be able to get another one.”