Kyle Busch using aggressiveness, patience to pursue Chase spot

Having missed 11 races, Kyle Busch knew that to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs he needed to modify his driving style. Simply winning races wasn’t going to be enough to get into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

To move inside the top-30 in the standings, a requirement NASCAR said he must fulfill, what Busch needed to do was tone down his aggressiveness and emphasize racing for points than victories.

And through eight races in his comeback from a broken right leg and left foot, Busch has done just that. By exercising caution and maintaining an eye on the bigger picture, he’s turned a once unlikely Chase bid into something far more realistic.

His characteristic hard-charging nature hasn’t subsided, however. Instead, Busch has shown a deftness for choosing his spots when to be assertive. A trait that’s paid off with three wins in the past four races.

Busch’s first victory upon returning, June 28 at Sonoma Raceway, came by way of a charge from seventh to first over the final seven laps. Two weeks later he was back in the winner’s circle after doggedly pursuing and eventually passing leader Joey Logano with 19 to go at Kentucky Speedway.

The best example, though, of the kind of balance Busch is displaying to make an unexpected Chase push occurred Sunday at New Hampshire. With Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski having better cars, Busch was likely to finish third unless he could swing track position to his advantage.

That moment presented itself just after Busch had pitted early due to what he thought was a flat tire, putting him a lap down with 61 laps remaining. At the same time, several drivers had been complaining about fluid on the track making it evident NASCAR would need to display the yellow flag.

If a caution came out before the leaders had pitted, Busch would’ve been trapped a lap down and almost certainly lost any chance of a respectable finish. The situation only magnified considering how important every single point is to his Chase hopes.

Understanding the circumstances, Busch abandoned the patient approach he had employed all afternoon, instead going full-bore to pursue Harvick and Keselowski and get back on the lead lap.

Busch’s opportunity arrived as Harvick and Keselowski tussled with slower traffic down the straightaway entering Turn 1. Executing a daring pass where he swung from the top groove to the bottom, Busch “bulldozed” right around the two leaders.

“I saw the lap car up on the high side and I knew that Brad was going to try to box me in behind him, not let me through, make me wait for another set of two corners,” Busch said. “There was just enough gap for me to fit between (Keselowski) and (Harvick). When I did that, I got on the inside of (Harvick) getting into Turn 1 and cleared them both on the [back] straightaway.”

And when the caution for oil came a few laps later and the leaders pitted, Busch vaulted to the top of the leaderboard, a spot ahead of Keselowski and six clear of Harvick. On the subsequent restart with 43 laps left, Busch got the jump and with track position, pulled away to secure the victory.

“I felt like that was a smart move at that time,” Busch said. “I keep saying we got to pick and choose our battles, and that was a battle right there that obviously we were in a hurry and we needed to do the right things to be on the lead lap, if there were a caution to come out with all the oil that was on the racetrack.

“That was a calculated risk that I felt like I needed to take at that particular moment. If it were Lap 100, then, no, I don’t think that would have happened. I would have just waited it out and let the thing play out. What I was racing for at that time was my life, to get back on the lead lap. We needed that. That’s when you got to make those moves.”

Toeing successfully between aggressive and conservative netted allowed Busch to gain 27 points on David Gilliland, currently ranked 30th in the standings. Busch is 70 points back with seven regular season races still remaining, a not insurmountable margin.

“Sometimes I always haven’t been the smartest points racer out there, I put myself in some bad spots,” Busch said. “I’ve made mistakes in the past. Hopefully I don’t continue those same mistakes this year. Who is to know? We’ll just continue on and try to strive and do the best we can and do the best each and every week.”