Kyle Busch’s run of bad finishes continued Sunday as he blew a right-front tire and hit the wall early in Sunday’s race, relegating him to a 38th-place finish.
Busch is now 14th in the Sprint Cup standings, 82 points out of 12th place, the cutoff to make the Chase for the Cup. Six races remain before the 12-driver field is set.
“I think it’s pretty self-explanatory that we’re trying to fight for a spot in the Chase and this is obviously frustrating because I don’t know if it was our car, the tire or what,” Busch said.
Busch’s finish was his second consecutive of 33rd or worse. He has finished 22nd or worse in five of the past eight races. News & Observer
Team president J.D. Gibbs noticed the effort.
“Kyle, he’s so focused on what just happened ... but he’s learning the bigger picture. [Sunday] was a great example of that. Take whatever you can get but we just had the tire go down and it really was discouraging, but I thought he handled it pretty well with the guys, in general. I saw him in the garage looking at stuff and talking to the guys. I think he realizes this is not only discouraging for him but for everybody.”
Nevertheless, Gibbs said Busch is a young driver with a long future ahead of him at JGR.
“We support him, we are behind him for years to come,” Gibbs said. “He’s only 24. He’s got a long way to go.”
Busch also has a long way to go before his team is a threat for the Cup championship again. This time last season—he had seven wins en route to eight on the year—he was predicted to be a major contender for the title.
“The reality is we have some work to do,” Gibbs said. “For us, we’ve got the right people, the right stuff. We just have to get the finishes.” NASCAR
| 
|