Two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch puts troubles aside, focuses on winning at Darlington to reach playoffs
DARLINGTON, South Carolina — Kyle Busch has had a maddening and frustrating season so far that has left the two-time Cup Series champion out of a 12th consecutive NASCAR playoff appearance.
Busch hopes to put past problems behind him at the Darlington circuit, where to win the southern 500 Sunday night is his only option to keep his postseason streak alive.
“Every week, you just ask yourself, ‘OK, what’s the next step?'” Busch said Saturday. “But that’s something we can’t change.”
Busch, who has not won in 46 races, nearly clinched his spot at Daytona last week but lost a hard-fought final-lap battle with Harrison Burton. That leaves Busch 19th on the playoff grid, 106 points behind the field and knowing his only chance is his first victory at Darlington since 2008.
Busch hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2012. Still, he won’t let his struggles this year steal his focus in the final race of the regular season.
“You can use that as a distraction or a motivational tool,” said Busch, who won the series championship in 2015 and 2019. “We’ll look to use that as our motivation.”
It won’t be easy at Darlington, where Busch finished seventh here in May 2023, his best performance since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing two seasons ago to join car owner Richard Childress.
Busch finished 27th in the spring event here and was never in contention.
“We’re not going into this weekend with our heads down and thinking we’re not going to run well,” Busch said. “We put our heads together and tried to figure out why and said, ‘We’re going to go out there with the best car we can and try to kick their butts and get a win.’”
Busch is not alone on the outside.
Chris Buescher, a playoff team a year ago, is on the bubble, winless this season and with 21 points ahead of Bubba Wallace for final playoff spotIf there were no new winner (13 drivers qualified for the playoffs thanks to race victories), Buescher would be in a good position to advance in points.
Buescher also knows that victory on Sunday is the best way to continue his title chase. “I’ve been very close to winning many races, but I haven’t sealed the deal yet,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be in this position.”
Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, both playoff drivers a year ago, are 17th and 18th on the grid with hopes of qualifying on points.
Chastain, who won four times in the previous two years, was surprised not to win. “If you had asked me to fill out a bingo card at the beginning of the season, I certainly wouldn’t have stamped that block,” he said.
The playoff race isn’t the only one taking place in Darlington. Points leader Tyler Reddick is just 17 points ahead of 2021 series champion Kyle Larson for the regular-season title and the crucial 15 playoff bonus points. Second place in the standings gets 10 bonus points.
Reddick and Larson They are not planning to follow each other. They both say they will rely on their successful history at Darlington and their strong teams this season to finish on top.
“Coming to a place like this, it’s kind of under our control, it’s under mine, it’s under his,” Reddick said.
Larson has led 785 laps in his career here and won the Southern 500 a year ago.
Reddick finished second to Larson at Darlington last September and led 174 laps here last May.
The reaction to the idea of Mexico City hosting a NASCAR race in 2025 surprised even Daniel Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico.
NASCAR announced its schedule this week and included its first trip to Mexico.
Suarez said the response from fans and friends at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event next June has been overwhelming.
“I’m very, very happy,” he said in Darlington. “It’s like a dream come true. Coming from Mexico, being born and raised there, it’s something very special.”
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