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With only two races left until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs, it’s time to check in on Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, as he tries to rebound from missing 11 races to early season injuries and make the Chase. He is currently the only driver with multiple wins who has yet to mathematically clinch a spot in the Chase.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED: Busch started second in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, sharing the front row with pole-sitting teammate Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 Toyota. He followed a win in Friday night’s green-white-checkered finish in the XFINITY Series with an eighth-place finish in the Sprint Cup race. A green-flag stop for a loose wheel and a penalty for speeding on pit road cost Busch a shot at winning the race despite leading the most laps, 192 of 500.
WHAT HE NEEDS: Staying out of trouble remains a priority. Busch must remain in the top 30 in the drivers points standings and is in 29th after Bristol, 46 points ahead of 31st-place driver Cole Whitt. But after Saturday’s race, Busch is closer to 28th place, just one point behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 21st at Bristol. There is a good chance Busch could lock up his Chase spot at Darlington next week.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Sprint Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sept. 6 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “The Lady in Black” is a tough track to tame, and the low downforce package that teams ran at Kentucky Speedway will also be used at Darlington. Busch won at Kentucky and was among the drivers who raved about the new aero package. He also has one win at Darlington, in 2008, and has an average finish there of 13.6.