On a roll: Kyle Busch keeps moving in the right Chase direction
Kyle Busch continues to do what's necessary to survive and advance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Busch finished fifth in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to hold on to second place in the Sprint Cup points standings. Busch has finished in the top 10 in all five Chase races so far, including top fives in the two most recent races. His average finish in the Chase is 6.6.
Clearly, Busch is peaking at the right time, as this is the only time all year he's posted five consecutive top-10 finishes.
In the process, Busch has established himself as a credible title contender. Busch has always had talent and his Joe Gibbs Racing squad is one of the sport's elite teams, without question.
That said, Busch's strong Chase is a bit of a shocker if you look at how his Sprint Cup regular season ended. In the last six races of the regular season, Busch never finished higher than 14th, had four finishes of 35th or worse and an average finish of 31.17.
And yet, here he is, in great shape to be one of the eight drivers who will advance to what NASCAR calls the Eliminator Round of the Chase.
Busch's surge has not been lost on those around him.
"What's interesting is that Kyle, through the regular season, from a consistency standpoint, had some challenges," said David Wilson, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A. and Toyota's top racing executive in the United States. "In the four or five races leading up to the Chase, Kyle had some challenges, just circumstances."
But that was then and now looks a whole lot better.
"Kyle's not just finishing top 10, he's qualifying top 10," said Wilson. To his point, Busch has two poles in the Chase and has not qualified worse than seventh in NASCAR's playoff round.
"Mentally, he's really got it going on," Wilson said of Busch. "He's got a quiet confidence about him because things are starting to come together. The equipment that the guys have underneath them is better."
Now it's off to Talladega, where Busch has a 26-point lead over ninth place and should be good to transfer from the Contender Round to the Eliminator Round.
Asked what he expected at Talladega, Busch said the plan is to be cautious.
"Run dead last all day -- survive," Busch said. "If there's one big wreck then it puts us in (the Eliminator Round) and we're good."
VIDEO: Kyle Busch talks about his top-five finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway
