Throwing in the towel wouldn’t ever be on the mind of Kyle Busch, right?
After nine full-time Sprint Cup years Busch has yet to score his first title, working for both Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. This season proved Busch isn’t championship material.
After four wins Busch was set as a legitimate threat for his first career title, battling with Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth. Beginning his hunt for the gold wasn’t challenging, he racked up back-to-back runner up finishes at Chicagoland and Loudon.
Dover was bread and butter as he roped in a fifth place finish but the slump hit at Kansas Speedway when he finished 34th. Following the disappointing race he rebounded with back-to-back fifth place finishes at Charlotte and Talladega Superspeedway.
His slump came back during Martinsville and Texas when he finished 13th and 15th. He finished the year on a decent note with back-to-back seventh place finishes in Phoenix and Homestead.
After the season finale Busch once again wasn’t the champion. Kansas had been the fork in his championship hopes. He ended the year a career best fourth in points but still feels the agony of not contending with Johnson and Kenseth on a consistent basis.
Despite lacking extreme Cup success Busch still remained a contender in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series racking up 17 wins between the two series throughout the year. He stole the CWTS owner’s title with the help of Erik Jones and was barely beaten for the NNS owner’s title for JGR.
Busch, 28, doesn’t have astounding stats compared to Johnson. For example, when Johnson was 28 years old he finished second in the standings with eight wins on the year. We all understand Johnson is a legend, but Busch certainly hasn’t produced like the champions of the sport have.
Riding to 2014 Busch will now be overwhelmed with new rookie talent in addition to Johnson and other veteran contenders. With talent rising Busch’s chances of a Sprint Cup championship are diminishing quickly, next year could possibly be his final chance.
I have been a Kurt Busch fan for many years. And when Kyle started I became a fan of his. Now Kyle said a month or so back. That when he saw he was not gong to win the chase in the past. He just did not try to win any more of the races.He just din’t care. I find it hard to fully support a driver that doe’s not give 100% all the time.I look forward to Kurt running well in 14 and winning a lot of races. and the Chase. nuff said.