Kyle Busch enters Saturday’s NASCAR Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway as a strong spoiler candidate capable of upsetting the 16 playoff drivers. Despite recent struggles, Busch’s extensive success at Bristol and hunger for victory position him as a significant factor in the race.
Busch, a native of Las Vegas, holds 63 career Cup wins—the highest among active drivers—and leads in victories at Bristol’s high-banked 0.533-mile oval with eight wins, or nine if including the 2022 dirt race version. Denny Hamlin follows with 59 Cup wins and four at Bristol. Yet, Busch’s current situation elevates his potential to derail playoff favorites.
Several Factors Heighten Busch’s Chances as a Spoiler
Busch faces an 85-race winless streak that started after his June 2023 victory at Gateway, underscoring his intensified need for success. He has not won on the Bristol asphalt oval since 2019 and last triumphed in the prestigious summer night race at Bristol in 2017. Compounding this, Busch missed the NASCAR playoffs for the second consecutive year, marking a first in his career.
Bristol’s one of my favorite tracks, if not my favorite,
Busch expressed in a recent Chevrolet NASCAR media statement.
I love going there, it’s obviously a great place.
It reminds me of the local short track atmosphere that you get on Saturday nights, growing up racing late models and things like that. It’s a lot of fun, I love the banking, I love the concrete and just the nature of that place.
Busch Reflects on Challenges and Track Evolution at Bristol
While proud of his historic performance at Bristol, Busch acknowledges the difficulty of maintaining past dominance.
It’s gotten a little bit tougher over the years to be as good as I once was there. Everybody’s kind of picked up on it,
he admitted.
It’s definitely one of the coolest tracks that we get a chance to go run on. And obviously, the speed that you carry there and the close nature to action, whether you run the bottom or whether you run the top, there’s just a lot of options.
Busch’s adaptation to these changes and his experience could prove decisive in affecting the playoff picture, as he might prevent some playoff drivers from winning at Bristol—which would secure their advancement to the next round.
Restarts and Strategy Are Crucial to Ending Busch’s Victory Drought
To bring the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing car back to victory lane, Busch identifies precise restarts as essential. The biggest thing is restarts, he said, emphasizing timely positioning on the track’s unique layout.
Busch explained the need to be aggressive at the bottom early on:
“You’ve got to be ready to get down to the bottom. It seems like the bottom really fires off and takes off early. And then as the pace progresses and falls off, then you’ve got to get to the top.”
You want to be one of the first ones up to the top so that people don’t get up in front of you and block you and not allow you through traffic. It’s just really a challenging race. It’s more of a chess game a lot of times, too, rather than just trying to figure out all raw speeds.
Significance of Busch’s Efforts at Bristol This Weekend
Busch’s Bristol performance could be pivotal not only for his personal breakthrough but also for the playoff dynamics, potentially ending his extended winless spell. His efforts at this storied venue, coupled with his knowledge of the track’s nuances and history of success, may shift the outlook for both himself and the playoff contenders.
With Bristol’s reputation for intense, strategy-heavy racing, the chance to spoil others’ playoff hopes while reclaiming his own winning form adds extra intrigue to the upcoming competition. Busch’s veteran presence and tactical mindset at Bristol could reshape the narrative for the race and the advancement of drivers beyond this round.
