See what the driver of the No. 18 Toyota needs to make the Chase
RELATED: Updated series standings | Latest Chase Grid
With only six races left until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, it’s time to check up on Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, as he tries to rebound from early-season injuries and make the Chase.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED: The beat goes on for Busch, who won for the fourth time in five races, taking the Crown Royal Presents the Brickyard 400 in overtime on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch held off Joey Logano on the final restart during a green-white-checkered finish to get his first Cup win at the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway. Busch led only 19 of the 164 laps, but he was perfect on the late restarts en route to his 33rd win in the premier series and fourth since returning from injuries sustained in the season-opening NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
WHAT HE NEEDS: With four wins this season, Busch still needs to finish in the top 30 in the standings and be able to start the remaining regular-season races to be eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. With six races to go before Chicagoland, Busch is unofficially 23 points behind Justin Allgaier, who is in 30th place. At his current pace, Busch needs 19.68 points per remaining event or an average finish of 24th place.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the Windows 10 400 at 1:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 2 (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM). Busch finished ninth earlier this season at the Tricky Triangle in his third race since returning from injuries. It was his best finish in his comeback until he won two races later at Sonoma. For his career, Busch has eight top-10 finishes in 21 Cup starts at Pocono. He has an average finish of 18.3 and a driver rating of 84.6.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:
Really hurts to be so close to this one. Wanted it bad for RP. Had awesome restarts. Tired of finishing second. @KyleBusch is on fire
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) July 27, 2015
If you love cars you have to love @ToyotaRacing and @KyleBusch They build them he drives them. Congrats!
— Michael Waltrip (@mw55) July 26, 2015
Pucker Up! @KyleBusch @CoachJoeGibbs JD Gibbs and the @Skittles crew are kissing the bricks at Indy! #Brickyard400 pic.twitter.com/luNe90JjHx
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) July 26, 2015
Seeing JD Gibbs today around the track made my day. He is a Great man and I miss seeing him more.
— Steve Letarte (@SteveLetarte) July 27, 2015
RETWEET to congratulate @JoeGibbsRacing! They swept both poles & races this weekend at @IMS, 2nd week in a row! pic.twitter.com/KGUnVLLHxJ
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) July 27, 2015