Can Kurt Busch capitalise on his victory at Dover? – NASCAR opinion
Kurt Busch made the most of the failures of the rest of the drivers as he raced to the chequered flag at the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, October 2, 2011.
He held off challenges from both Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards to secure his second win of the season and his first ever Chase victory at Dover.
The victory was made all the more special as he outpaced Jimmie Johnson, who he has labelled his ‘arch-nemesis’ and is ahead of him in the point standings. Both drivers have not been shy in making public the fact that they do not like each other, with Busch
claiming he is tired of watching Johnson winning the Sprint Cup each year.
The win has jumped Kurt Busch from 9th place to 4th in the overall standings, just 9 points behind leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards. Many people have their favourites for the Sprint Cup title this
year. Kurt Busch does not feature in too many of those lists as the under-rated 33-year-old is not the type of person who likes to rate his chances.
However, with the win at Dover, people are now starting to pay more attention to him. Can he spring a surprise on everyone and take the Sprint Cup for the second time in his career?
Not likely. While there is no doubting his ability, Busch does not look like he has what it takes to go all the way this season. He has had brilliant runs throughout the season but in the Chase, you need to be on your game for around 6-7 races, something
Busch cannot string together.
His only other victory of the season came at Sonoma in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in June. He made a good start to the Chase, finishing 6th in Chicagoland but then finished 22nd in New Hampshire. The New
Hampshire finish was hampered by mistakes from his team as his car failed pre race inspection and the last minute adjustments to his car did not work out. So given his Chase performance so far, he definitely has a shout in the race.
A lot of it comes down to the teams. While most of the attention is usually focused on driver chances, one cannot ignore the teams. Penske Racing has not had the best of seasons and they need to get their house in order. They are very lucky to have two drivers
in the Chase this year.
Brad Keselowski is the second driver they have and we have seen a lot of topsy-turvy performances from him throughout the year as well. So the team has had obvious consistency issues and you cannot afford that in the Chase.
The victory at Dover has got many people thinking that Busch could build from this victory to make charge for the championship. While he was definitely among the top 5 drivers in the race, both Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards gifted him the race win. Edwards
had by far the better car and had it not been for his unfortunate speeding penalty, he would have left everyone in his dust. Jimmie Johnson also stumbled at the restarts and surrendered the lead to Busch.
Having said that, one needs both skill and luck to win Championships and Busch had both in Dover. Whether it will continue in the coming races is something to look forward to for both fans and drivers alike.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect Bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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