Kyle Busch was finally able to earn himself some breathing space in Chicago after a string of poor performances. He finished in ninth place on the 2.2-mile course through all 58 laps and secured his first top-10 result since the race at Kansas back in May. Though he is still far away from making it to the playoffs, the result appears to have given him hope.
Advertisement
He told the press after the race, “Hopefully, this is the start of some positive momentum for our Richard Childress Racing team. It’s cool to get the finish that we deserve. Great job by Randall Burnett and everyone at RCR and ECR [RCR’s engine company].” The option to choose between slick tires and wet tires was a confusion that not every team got right but Busch’s did.
He added, “The way the race played out we were able to get on slicks at just the right time late in the race and we passed a ton of cars. For some reason, we really struggled on the wet tire setup. The car felt like it was on ice, so we have work to do to make that better. All in all, it was a good day for sure.” Busch is still 98 points below the playoff elimination line as things stand after Chicago.
Six more races remain in the regular season which translates to six opportunities for the driver to reach the victory lane. Chicago does spell a good first step in the journey that Busch and the #8 Chevrolet Camaro team undertake hereon.
For Busch, it’s all about “fighting the good fight”
Hours before the green flag waved at downtown Chicago, Busch wasn’t feeling very confident or happy with how his team had been struggling in recent weeks. He said out of frustration, “It’s been so dismal and so heartbreaking that, you know, I have a hard time dealing with enough stuff in my life that every Sunday to keep adding to it is getting harder and harder to deal with.”
The 2X Cup Series champion’s winless streak is now over 40 races, the worst run in his career.
He added, “Just gotta keep going on in the next week and keep fighting on. Fight the good fight to try to score a win hopefully before the playoffs. And if not before the playoffs then at least in the playoffs.”
Clearly, all the experience and maturity that he has gained over the last two decades is standing him in good state at times like these.
