Kurt Busch: Why He Is a Legitimate NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender This Year

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With nine races to go in the season, the driver of the No. 22 Shell Oil/Pennzoil Dodge, Kurt Busch, does not appear to be out of gas.

After kicking off the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup with a solid third-place qualifying position and a sixth-place finish, Busch will now get a second shot at eight tracks where he has already fared respectably.

The Chase is young.

Kurt Busch is not a young man any more, but this old dog may have a few new tricks up his sleeve this year in his hunt for another Sprint Cup championship...

He Could Capture Lightning in a Bottle for a Second Time

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Although it seems like a long time ago at this point in the season, Kurt Busch had probably one of the best single months of any driver in all of NASCAR as spring gave way to summer.

In June 2011, he grabbed three consecutive poles at Kansas, Pocono and Michigan. 

The only pole that he did not win resulted in a victory anyway: Sonoma on a road course.

Anyone who is capable of doing this once can do it again. 

One super successful month during the Chase has the potential to pay historic dividends.

If the timing is right—i.e., now—the end result could be some extra hardware for Kurt Busch's trophy case and a large grin for the rest of 2011.

His Overall Numbers Are Solid at Chase Tracks

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Although every driver will get a second chance at all of the tracks during the next eight races, Kurt Busch has already posted consistently solid results at these locations.

He had a composite average qualifying run of 8.9 and a finishing average of 11.1 at all of these venues.

His only true stumbles were an 18th-place finish at Talladega after qualifying eighth, and a 16th-place finish at Martinsville.

If he can improve his overall consistency just a bit, his chances are solid to become 2011's NASCAR champion.

Dodge Has Had a Great Year

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Of the four major car manufacturers, Dodge has, by far, the smallest representation in NASCAR. 

This picture represents all of its Sprint Cup Drivers (true, Robby Gordon does drive a Dodge, but he is not a viable contender). 

Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski have combined for four in their Dodge Chargers this season and made the Chase.

Both have also been, at different times in the season, the hottest drivers in the Sprint Cup.

I am not sure what owner Roger Penkse and his Penske Racing crew are souping their cars up with, but it has worked this year.

And there is no reason to doubt that this will cease throughout the Chase.

Extra Motivation

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Every driver wants to end Jimmie Johnson's unprecedented run of five consecutive championships. 

That is no secret. 

However, Kurt Busch's long term feud/rivalry with Johnson has boiled over a few times this season.

While there is little chance that, due to the risk involved, either driver will try to purposefully hinder the other on the track, Kurt Busch is a man on a mission. 

Being a competitor, this has to give him a mental edge.

I know nothing about his ritual before a race to get ready, but thinking about the elation of beating Johnson is surely a part of it. 

It is no guarantee, but this could give Busch a small edge that other drivers simply cannot equal.

He Has Done It Before in '04

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Any former champion has a chance to win again. 

Kurt Busch is not the only driver in the Chase with this experience, as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth have all been to the mountain top. 

But, he is in the minority.

This could be the year where he joins the ultra elite club of Gordon, Johnson and Stewart as the only active Chase drivers with multiple championships.

Busch won the Chase in the very first year of its existence. 

He can legitimately do it again.