NASCAR New Hampshire 2015 recap: Kyle Busch’s amazing comeback continues

When Kyle Busch returned following an 11-race absence recovering from serious leg injuries, he faced a deficit of 179 points to earn Chase for the Sprint Cup eligibility. Four starts later that sizable margin only shrunk by six points due to a pair of accidents, making it a long shot Busch would qualify.

And what do Busch’s playoff prospects look like now, eight races since the comeback began? Not just good, but excellent.

By winning for a third time in four weeks Sunday, the gap between himself and the 30th position in the standings that NASCAR requires him to reach is a mere 58 points with seven regular season races remaining.

Barring something catastrophic like the February crash that broke his right leg and left foot or the No. 18 car suddenly having the reliability of a 1987 Yugo, what was once unlikely is almost certainly going to happen: Busch will be among the 16 drivers comprising the Chase field.

“I don’t have any fears of being able to close that gap,” said Adam Stevens, Busch’s crew chief. “But we can’t get back on our heels either. We still have to approach each weekend like we have been.”

Said Busch: “It’s certainly doable.”

Beyond the astonishing recovery from devastating injuries that put his season in jeopardy, what’s remarkable about Busch’s run is how each of his three victories was achieved.

The first came on a physically demanding road course that required Busch to put great pressure on his left foot -- the foot he uses to brake. Victory No. 2 was a dominant performance in a race featuring the introduction of a new rules package where drivers had little time to practice.

And the most recent triumph, on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, saw Busch rally from being a lap down by executing an audacious inside pass of leaders Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski heading into Turn 1.

Busch’s daring was rewarded when a caution waved shortly thereafter, allowing him to inherit the lead when everyone else pitted. It was a lead he never relinquished.

“I felt like I took a little bit of a chance there with the move down the front stretch,” Busch said. “But that was a calculated risk that I felt like I needed to take at that particular moment.

“What I was racing for at that time was to get back on the lead lap. We needed that. That’s when you got to make those moves.”

The ability to meld his typical aggressiveness with a more cunning, patient approach is why Busch has had great success since returning. When opportunities arise, he pounces. Otherwise he’s content to just points race and earn a strong a finish rather than do something risky that could damage his Chase hopes.

It’s a far different mindset than one he’s had in years past.

“I always haven’t been the smartest points racer out there,” Busch said. “I put myself in some bad spots. ... I’ve made mistakes in the past. Hopefully, I don’t continue those same mistakes this year.”

But if there is a stumble in the next seven races, Busch has built himself a bit of a cushion so that one bad result isn’t a death knell to earning a Chase spot.

To qualify, he’ll need to average roughly a 20th-place finish, a number far more procurable than the average finish of 12th Busch needed to hit after crashing out twice in his first four races back.

“In my mind, the opportunity I got put in front of me was to run 20 championship weeks from here on out till the end of the year. That’s what it’s going to be for us,” Busch said. “We’re making the most of that right now. I certainly didn’t do a very good job of that at Dover and Michigan. We’ll continue to make sure that we’re smart.”

The once unthinkable is now something that’s very much obtainable.