JOLIET, Ill. — If not for an inopportune late-race caution period Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Kurt Busch might’ve had the come-from-behind victory in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener that instead went to Denny Hamlin. The consolation prize was still a positive one, another character-building moment in a season stocked with them to kick off the playoffs.
Busch rallied from early trouble, then survived a rock ’em-sock ’em restart with five laps remaining to get his Chase off to a solid start, collecting a third-place finish in the first of 10 postseason events. It wasn’t quite the win that would have automatically transferred him to the round of 12, but it provided a slight buffer and more substantial confidence booster on a day when most playoff-eligible drivers avoided catastrophe.
Busch took the lead for the final time at Lap 245 of 267 and appeared headed for victory when the yellow flag flew for debris. His crew chief, Tony Gibson, ordered Busch to keep his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 out to keep his position, making the former premier series champ one of just three lead-lap drivers — the others being Hamlin and Jeff Gordon — to shun pit road.
“You hope it goes green to the end and a yellow popped out,” Busch said. “The crew chief’s like, ‘let’s stay out,’ and I’m like, ‘yeah, I think that’ll work,’ but you’ve got to remember these restarts, we’re so boxed in and if somebody’s got a little bit fresher grip to gain momentum on a restart, they’re going to jump on you. So Jeff left the inside open, let the guys with fresh tires get to the inside, and it was a tough battle after that. But real proud of our team to bring it home third.”
Gibson wasn’t second-guessing his decision to keep his driver on the track, saying that the tires for the eventual race winner were just as worn as Busch’s.
“I figured a lot of them were going to do the opposite of whatever I do, so you’re kind of a sitting duck anyway,” Gibson said. “I pit and take on four (tires) and come out fourth or fifth; in five laps, can I make it through all that crap and make it back? Those are the things you’ve got to think about, but I don’t regret what I did. I think at the time with the information that I had, guys were talking on the radio about they’re going to do the opposite of what I do, so I’m screwed either way.”
Busch initially expressed his surprise with the strategy call over the team’s radio, saying, “I can’t believe we stayed out.” Post-race on pit road, Busch struck a tone of solidarity when discussing his veteran crew chief’s decision.
“Gibson said stay out and we work as a team,” Busch said. “We win as a team; we lose as a team. Great points day.”
But beyond the decisive restart was a day of resilience. Busch pitted on the 87th lap after scraping the wall with a flat right-rear tire. A long green-flag run helped Busch to eventually return to the lead lap and to sync up with the same pit-stop cycle as the other front-runners.
Gibson & Co. gave the car a once-over on its next stop, checking a spot of concern on the right-side fenders. Any damage was minimal; by Lap 184, Busch took the lead for the first time, remaining a force for the rest of the day.
“We never give up, and we’ve had great finishes this year with Kurt when we’ve had things happen, but we’re able to rally back and get good finishes,” Gibson said. “That’s usually what wins championships. The 48 (six-time champion Jimmie Johnson) does it a lot. That was our game plan coming into today, and it’s still our game plan when we leave.”
With playoff-eligible drivers taking eight of the top nine spots in Sunday’s myAFibRisk.com 400, there was little movement in the upper reaches of the Chase standings. But Busch is firmly there, ranking fifth in a top 10 that’s separated by just 14 points.
Last season, Busch was among the first four drivers eliminated when the field was pared to 12 after the opening Challenger Round. Next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the former series champion aims to further solidify his footing at a track where he’s won three times.
“Led some laps, showed some strength, so we’ll take that on to Loudon,” Gibson said of the series’ next race. “As long as you transfer to the next round, it doesn’t matter how many you’ve won. You can win two of these first ones and still get knocked out in the second round. We’re trying to build momentum and build steam and confidence, and today was the day we did that.”