The Busch brothers return to Daytona with Victory Lane in their sights

On February 22, thousands of fans at the track and countless millions in in the comfort of their living rooms witnessed something that hadn’t happened in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since the last century; a race without  Kurt Busch or his younger brother Kyle. 

The elder Busch was sidelined due to domestic issues, while Kyle was lying in hospital bed after suffering a broken right leg and left foot during an accident in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race  at Daytona  International Speedway.

Most of the mainstream media had already convicted Kurt Busch and all but announced the end of his career, while Kyle, the winner of 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, wasn’t certain when his next victory would come. Now, Kurt is one of the few multiple winners in the series for 2015, and Kyle’s victory in  the Toyota/Save Mart 350k at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway might just be the sweetest victory of his 11-year career. It was, in fact, the first Busch brothers 1-2 finish in the Cup Series, and might very well be the first of many. 

It was “so cool to come home one-two with my brother, that was really awesome,” Kurt Busch told reporters after the race. For the 2004 Sprint Cup Champion, it was “a statement type of weekend.” 

“It is a statement weekend for everything that’s gone on in 2015,” said Busch, a Las Vegas native who turns 37 in August. 

This weekend, the driver of the No. 18 Interstate All Battery Center Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and the driver of the No. 41 for Stewart-Haas Racing reach yet another hurdle – a return to Daytona for Sunday night’s traditional midsummer Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup race. The Busch’s are both looking forward to getting back on the track and put February’s bad memories behind them. 

“When it is taken away from you or you have made a mistake and you don’t get a chance to go out there and do it on your terms, it is tough,” Busch said recently. “I don’t have anything to prove. I have my job to do — which is to go out there, drive and race for wins.” 

Kyle Busch is certainly no stranger to victory lane at the Coke Zero 400, having won the July 2008 race behind the wheel of – yes – the Interstate Batteries Toyota. The Las Vegas native has fared much better in his summer races at Daytona as the track is much more slick thanks to Florida’s July heat. He has four top-five finishes in his 10 July starts at Daytona and also scored his first career pole position at a restrictor-plate track there in July 2013. 

“I would love nothing more than to get our Interstate All Battery Center Camry back to victory lane there,” stated Kyle. 

While another victory Sunday night would be sweet for many reasons, Busch and the No. 18 All Battery Center Team will also be making a huge push toward qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs over the final 10 races remaining in NASCAR’s regular season. Busch has been given an exemption to make the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup and has now scored a requisite win. But he also must rally to make it within the top-30 in driver points during the next 10 races. Busch is 37th in the standings with 125 points, sitting 136 markers behind 30th-place Cole Whitt, so a strong finish Sunday night would be another points windfall in his quest to get himself into NASCAR’s playoffs, which start in September. 

Cole Whitt, whose impressive drive for racing and his can do attitude have been the focus of many stories in the media, is unfortunately caught in a team whose financial situation has relegated them to middle of the pack status.

“We’re looking forward to running up front like we know we can,” stated a determined Whitt. “I think we proved in February in Daytona that we can run with the best of them.”

Consistency in NASCAR is the name of the game, but winning, as they say, isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!

 

Adam Sinclair