If it weren’t for bad luck, Kyle Busch wouldn’t have any.
The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion hasn’t won fewer than four races in a season since 2014, yet he sits at this point in the season without a victory and 10th in the points standings. His most recent calamity was a blown tire that sent him careening into the wall early in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
When Busch hit the wall and finished last, you could see all the air come out of him. The pressure of being NASCAR’s winningest driver means he is expected to contend every week. His stroke of bad luck has deflated his supporters and fueled his haters.
Busch’s average finish of 15.1 is his worst since that aforementioned 2014 campaign (17.6) and six spots below his average starting spot of 9.2. However, that statistic is slightly skewed because the Cup Series has only held qualifying once since coming back from the coronavirus break. Busch has only led 202 of the 5,107 laps he has run this season. That’s 10 times fewer than the 2,023 he led in 2017.
One of the most reliable things in sports in recent years is Kyle Busch competing for a championship in the final race of the season. It’s happened every year since 2015, when he won a championship despite missing 11 races with a broken leg. He still won five times that season. Think about that … once every five starts, Busch went to Victory Lane.
Busch’s career high for wins in a season is eight, achieved in 2008 and 2018. However, he only finished fourth in 2018 and a very disappointing 10th in 2008. Until Busch won the 2019 title, he couldn’t shake the reputation of not being able to win a championship in a full season, no matter what points system was being used.
While I am far from being a Kyle Busch fan, I know that NASCAR is healthier when he is contending for wins on a weekly basis. His fans love and his detractors hate his surly attitude when he’s not winning. He doesn’t come across as the best example of a gracious loser. Busch hasn’t won 212 races across NASCAR’s three national series by being a nice guy. At only 35, he has plenty of years to contend for more wins and championships.
Meanwhile, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, is the standard bearer for the team and the series this season with five victories — only one shy of his total from all of last season. He is turning into one of the favorites every week, a status that Busch still holds despite his 2020 woes.
There are still 16 races left in the season, plenty of time for Busch and others who have struggled to rise and switch places Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and others who have had success.
NOTES ON LOUDON: It felt good to see fans in the stands last week at New Hampshire, even if attendance was limited due to social distancing and other coronavirus precautions. Everyone entering the track was subject to a temperature check.
As for the racing, it was typical New Hampshire: someone gets out front and drives away. Even while saving fuel, Brad Keselowski increased his lead over Hamlin in the final laps for his third victory of the season. It marks five straight years where “Bad Brad” has won at least three times. The winning hangover carried over a day, as Keselowski signed a contract extension with Team Penske on Monday. That leaves the trio of Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney intact, while taking Keselowski off anyone’s short list to replace drivers such as Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Larson.
I haven’t been to Loudon since the last time I covered a race for The Republican in 2013. I miss it a lot, and I have my fingers crossed that I could go there next year if I am still writing this column.
MONADNOCK WINNERS: Maine’s D.J. Shaw grabbed the lead on lap 14 and never looked back en route to the checkered flag last Saturday in the 100-lap Granite State Pro Stock Series main event at Monadnock Speedway.
In NHSTRA Modified action, points leader Brian Robie scored the win, carving his way through the field to take the lead on lap 32 of the 40-lapper. The Sunapee, N.H., hotshoe pulled away from defending division champion Todd Patnode to earn his third win of the season.
South Deerfield’s Ben Byrne finished fourth and is second in the points behind Robie.
In the Late Model Sportsman division, no one can touch Aaron Fellows. The Croydon, N.H., pilot remained undefeated this season as he won his seventh straight feature. Orange’s Cole Littlewood was the runner-up for the second week in a row. Perhaps it’s time for Monadnock promoters to place a “bounty” on Mr. Fellows, as is done at tracks across the country whenever someone is this dominant.
Belchertown’s Chris Buffone earned his first Street Stock victory. Ed Gilman topped the night’s Classic Lites 30-lapper.
This Saturday will feature five weekly divisions as well as the Granite State Legends and Pro-4 Modifieds.
Jason Remillard is a copy editor and page designer at the Recorder. He can be reached at jremillard@recorder.com and followed on Twitter @racinwithjason.