Veteran Kyle Busch hopes to win at MIS to secure a spot in the Cup playoffs
Kyle Busch will go down in NASCAR Cup history as one of the best drivers, and his induction into the Hall of Fame is a given.
That’s why this season has been so frustrating for Busch, who heads to Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway and must reach Victory Lane to secure a playoff spot in the 16-car field with three races remaining before the field is set.
Busch, 39, has 63 Cup Series victories, including series championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has also won 102 races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 66 more in the NASCAR Truck Series.
This is Busch’s 20th.th year as a full-time driver in Cup, and he’s won at least one race in each of them…except this season. He’s in his second season driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, and he won three times last season.
Twelve different drivers have won at least one race this season to earn their way into the 16-car playoff field. Busch’s RCR teammate Austin Dillon, who was outside the top 30 in the points standings, edged out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin Jr. on the final lap on Sunday to win at Richmond, becoming the 13th driver to win the season.th other race winner.
NASCAR administration announced Thursday that Dillon could keep his win but that it would not qualify him for the playoffs, in an effort to ensure that drivers would think twice about making such a reckless move in the future.
Bush is 19.th in points with 465 points. Martin Truex Jr. is comfortably in 13th placeth with 662 points, 60 more than his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, with Bubba Wallace 15th (587), followed by Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain with 584.
Busch needs to find Victory Lane…and soon.
More: More drivers could advance to the playoffs at the FireKeepers Casino 400 in MIS
Busch finds the current season disappointing because he notices a lack of respect among the drivers for each other.
“It’s definitely been a rough year, it seems like nothing has gone the way we wanted it to,” Busch said in an interview with The Detroit News last month. “We have a good car, come to pit road and lose spots. We don’t have a good car, come to pit road and gain spots and then can’t hold on to them because we’re not very good or we’ve been knocked out by different drivers in five of the last seven races, so just no respect.”
“We are fighting for our lives, for a place in the playoffs, but our playoff hopes are completely gone in terms of points, especially when you consider that a new winner is coming and moving the points line further and further down.
“We know we have a chance at some tracks to get us to Victory Lane and make the playoffs. But more importantly, I need to get a win this year to continue my winning streak of 20 years in a row.”
Busch prides himself on being a consistent threat to win every year in such a competitive series. Busch found most of his success driving a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, earning 56 wins in 15 years, including the Cup Series title in 2015 and 2019, before primary sponsor M&M/Mars left JGR and the Cup Series in 2022.
“It was three different teams (Hendrick, JGR, Childress), several different crew chiefs, engineers and people on the team behind one, two different manufacturers, so overall we were very successful over the course of my 19-year career,” Busch said.
“I think this year has definitely been the toughest ever. We just haven’t found what we’re looking for in our race cars to get where we need to be to be fast every week and stay consistent like some others do. There is a way to do that. There are others who are doing it and we haven’t found it yet.”
Busch is confident he can do the job and win in Michigan or at the next race on August 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
“We were fast at Daytona and we were really fast at Michigan last year,” Busch said. “It’s just about making the day work and getting it done.”
Busch said MIS was “always fun.”
“I remember in 2013 when we won that race. That was a fantastic race,” Busch said. “The track was really getting old and really wide. We drove really fast down the High Line and had to pass Jimmie Johnson on the last run and that’s pretty special if you can say that. It was a fabulous day for me. My first and only win at Michigan, and I think that’s actually what kept Jimmie from winning at Michigan, kept him from crossing that track off his bucket list.”
Race weekend at MIS
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Firekeepers Casino 400
▶ Schedule: Saturday, practice, 12:35 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:20 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (USA)
▶ Race distance: 200 laps, 400 miles
▶ Last year: Chris Buescher won the second of three consecutive starts before the playoffs, leading the final 12 of 52 total laps after starting fourth and taking the win. Martin Truex Jr. led 47 laps and finished second with his teammate Joe Gibbs Racing Denny Hamlin Third, followed by Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills) and Kyle Larson.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Cabo Wabo 250
▶ Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:30 p.m.; qualifying, 4:10 p.m.; Saturday, race, 3:30 p.m. (USA)
▶ Race distance: 125 laps, 250 miles.
▶ Last year: John Hunter Nemechek led a Toyota for two 65 laps after starting 10th to claim his fifth of seven victories last season. His lead laps included the final 23 of a dominant race that he won by 1.495 seconds. Josh Berry in a Chevy.
