Kyle Busch may have approval ratings similar to another person whose name has the same pronunciation, but he does not have the same track record. On Sunday, NASCAR’s version of Mr. Busch reaffirmed to the less than adoring public that he is still the leader, even if his pulling-away victory resulted in the Dover fans exiting in droves before the race was over.
Does anyone wonder if Dale Junior was winning would the fans still have made sure to get to their cars so they would not have to watch him cross the finish line and do his celebratory burn-outs? Not a chance.
Kyle Busch did not have the best car on Sunday, so he says, but that seems to be a more of a technical point because when someone takes it easy for the last laps and cruises to an easy victory, words like “they were better than us” seem less than genuine and pointless at the same time. Busch won by 4.224 seconds over a trio of Roush Fenway cars and repeatedly used better pit stops to put himself a few seconds ahead and then hold on to the track position during long runs. Not a strategy that makes for compelling races and keeps fans glued to their seats, but a perfect strategy for taking a commanding lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. Busch’s closest competitor, Jeff Burton, finished eighth, leaving him 142 points behind the leader.
Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only two drivers within 300 points of Busch at the halfway point of the regular season. Dale Jr. nursed his car all day and finished outside the top 30 dropping even further behind runaway points-leader Busch.
But the story of the day was the Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew. Time after time, week after week, they keep performing flawlessly and giving Kyle Busch the chance to win even when he “might” not be the best car on the track.
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