Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch did not qualify for this year’s Playoffs, but he is still highly motivated as the season closes out – and especially so at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his hometown track.
The 39-year old two-time series champion currently boasts a series-best 19-year victory streak. But the driver of the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet hasn’t wo since June 4 of last season (at Gateway, Ill.) – 53 races ago. This season his best work is back-to-back runner-up showings this summer at Daytona Beach and Darlington, S.C. He’s had only a single top-10 (at Atlanta) during this six-race Playoff portion of the schedule.
He is a past winner at his hometown 1.5-miler – winning from pole position in 2009 and scoring six top-10 finishes in the last eight races at the track. Among the four remaining venues – also Homestead-Miami, Martinsville, Va. and Phoenix – Busch said he was optimistic about his chances to visit Victory Lane again.
“You know, you kind of come down towards the closing stages of the regular season, and we had some pretty good runs, we’ve had a couple second-place finishes; some close opportunities and some missed chances there, which really hurt being able to get into the playoffs, for one,’’ Busch said. “But two, to just scratch-off the 20 year question mark. And so here we are again – the last few weeks of the season and trying to get that victory.
“All you can do is try each week and go through the best you can; execute and put yourself in the right spot to have that shot to win. If it doesn’t happen, then you were beaten by others that were better than you. So it’s just all you can do.”
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