Busch Comes “Home” With Some Security

Obviously, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is Las Vegas-native Kyle Busch’s home. But really, shouldn’t Bristol be substituted in this category?

Busch has won the last five NASCAR national series races at Bristol, including his three-series sweep last August. In all, he has 11 wins at Bristol – including five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which is tied with Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch for most among active drivers.

He’s the only driver with a 100+ average Driver Rating (108.1) and one of two drivers with an average finish over the last 13 races less than 10 (8.7).

Why not another victory? He adds momentum to his past history, winning last Sunday at Michigan International Speedway and clinching the first Chase berth of the season. With his Michigan win, Busch locked up at least a Wild Card spot.

He also became eligible for the $3 million Sprint Summer Showdown sweepstakes. Another win at Bristol would help limit the competition at Atlanta.

And finally, it’s only a matter of time until Busch clinches a top 10 spot. Once he does, every “regular season” win means three bonus points to his Chase total. After Richmond, each Chase drivers’ points total gets reset to 2,000, but only the top 10 get three bonus points added for each victory over the first 26 races.

KYLE BUSCH BRISTOL STATS

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota)
· Five wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 8.7
· Average Running Position of 11.7, fourth-best
· Series-best Driver Rating of 108.1
· Series-high 543 Fastest Laps Run
· 491 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 114.563 mph
· 4,445 Laps in the Top 15 (68.2%), fifth-most
· 272 Quality Passes, seventh-most