Kyle Busch's Brilliance on Display in Win Under New Rules Package at Kentucky
Kyle Busch’s great strength has always been his ability to gather up a skidding race car. Astute observers have marveled at his ability to “save a car.” Those same observers have also marveled at Jimmie Johnson’s ability to seldom have to save a car.
Johnson has won six championships. Busch hasn’t won any. His older brother, Kurt, did so in 2004.
NASCAR changed the rules governing aerodynamics for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night. One goal was to make the cars harder to drive. It played right into the winner’s hands.
Kyle Busch victories are often exciting. When rules change, it’s common for them to benefit a driver who is adaptable.
“It was fun, certainly when you have a great race car like that,” Busch said after the race. “It makes it nothing but fun.
“I enjoyed the race. I really did, I guess more so than everybody else because we’re in Victory Lane. I just thought you had options, and this is one of my better tracks, so I’m not going to lie. We excelled a little better.”
The winning crew chief, Adam Stevens, said of his driver, “There is just no quit in Kyle Busch. He’s proven that time and time again. When the pressure’s on is when he’s at his best, and he showed it again here [Saturday night].”
“This is a great sports story,” added owner Joe Gibbs, a veteran of more than one. “To be hurt that bad at Daytona and come back in four months, win a road race [at Sonoma, California on June 28]—you know how hard that is—and then come back here and win again. … I’m just so proud of him and the whole team.”
The dark side of Busch’s gifts is that they often flash good and bad. The chief reason he hasn’t won a championship is that he is erratic, which is reflected in his performances since returning from the leg injuries that kept him out of the season’s first 11 races.
As the scenario now stands, Busch is a multiple-race winner, but he still must reach the top 30 in the Sprint Cup standings by regular season’s end on Sept. 12 at Richmond International Raceway’s Federated Auto Parts 400. The Kentucky victory, his second in a span of three races, was a giant step in that direction.
Should Busch fail to reach the top 30, it will put pressure on NASCAR chairman Brian France to put him in the Chase anyway. Two years ago, when the Chase field was still ostensibly 12 drivers, France added Jeff Gordon to make it 13. There were extenuating circumstances then. There are extenuating circumstances now, and France has already granted Busch one waiver.
| Track | Finish | Ranking | Gain/Loss | Deficit |
| Charlotte | 11 | 41 | +33 | 144 |
| Dover | 36 | 40 | -9 | 153 |
| Pocono | 9 | 39 | +19 | 134 |
| Michigan | 43 | 39 | -15 | 149 |
| Sonoma | 1 | 37 | +25 | 124 |
| Daytona | 17 | 37 | +8 | 116 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 35 | +29 | 87 |
Results of the rules changes, which were designed to give the cars less stability, were encouraging. The racing was exciting back in the field, mainly because the cars were sliding around and the wide Kentucky track surface afforded ample room. The rules are scheduled to be in place again for the Sept. 6 race at Darlington Raceway.
That will be a more stern test. Darlington is as narrow as Kentucky is wide. In terms of room, Kentucky is a four-lane. Darlington is a sidewalk.
The downside of Kentucky was that whoever managed to get a lead tended to pull away. Busch crossed the finish line 1.594 seconds before runner-up Joey Logano.
One effect of the experimental rules package was at least a short-term change in the sport’s balance of power. Joe Gibbs’ Toyotas snagged four of the top five positions with the winner, Denny Hamlin in third, Carl Edwards fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth.
“I cannot say enough positive things about this direction NASCAR is going with less downforce,” said Edwards, who has lobbied for it.
“I could actually drive the car. It was steering and sliding. I about wrecked a few times. You know, I felt like I was doing something, not just sitting in line.”
Roger Penske’s Ford team also made a relative gain. Logano finished second, and Brad Keselowski, who led 62 laps, was sixth. Those gains were largely at the expense of the sport’s top organization, Hendrick Motorsports, whose four drivers finished seventh (Jeff Gordon), ninth (Johnson), 21st (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and 27th (Kasey Kahne), not to mention other leading Chevrolet drivers such as Kevin Harvick (eighth), Kurt Busch (10th) and Martin Truex Jr. (17th).
This will pass. The Hendrick juggernaut will not languish long, and this rules package won’t reappear until Darlington.
“It was a solid evening,” Gordon said. “It wasn’t a winning evening, but I’m still real proud of the effort.
“It’s hard to gauge [the new package] at this place. It’s such a challenging race track already. … We’ve got to get the right tires. This is not the right tire. … I think we had to give it a try somewhere. … I’m glad we tried it, did a little more work. I’m looking forward to trying it again.”
Busch’s week-to-week adventures are giving the sport vitality. In his seven races—the occupant of 30th place, Cole Whitt, has been in all 18—Busch has won twice but only finished in the top 10 once more. The 163 laps he led in Kentucky represent 87.2 percent of his total for the year. His average finish is 16.9.
None of this is new. When the careers of Johnson and Busch are done, the former will be remembered for his near-perfection and the latter for his brilliance. Johnson will have the honors, but the gaudy tales of legend will be told on Busch’s behalf. Johnson is cool and Busch controversial. A healthy quota of fans reportedly booed Busch before the start, but not so much in victory.
All quotes are taken from NASCAR media, team and manufacturer sources unless otherwise noted.
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