Busch looks to rebound

BY RALPH N. PAULK
Media General News Service
Published: September 22, 2008

If Kyle Busch is to prove he’s got what it takes to dethrone two-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, now might be the time to strut his stuff.

Busch spun his wheels last weekend in NASCAR’s postseason opener at Loudon with an uninspiring 34th-place finish. This after staggering into the 10-race postseason Chase for the Cup with an unsteady 15th-place performance in the regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway.

“We’ve got to put last week behind us and look ahead to this week,“ Busch said as he and his team prepared for Sunday’s race in Dover, Del. “Last week is over, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“[Crew chief] Steve [Addington] and all the guys have given me great stuff this year, so one problem isn’t going to deter me. I believe in these guys. Whenever we’ve had a bad race, we’ve been able to put it behind us the next week.“

Busch hadn’t strung together two such lackluster finishes since placing 15th (Indianapolis) and 36th (Pocono) two months ago. However, he followed that two-race fade with a win at Watkins Glen and second-place finishes at Michigan and Bristol.

“We didn’t have good races either time at New Hampshire, but the week after the first race there we came back and won at Daytona,“ Busch recalled. “We weren’t good at Pocono either race but won at Watkins Glen the week after the second Pocono race.

“This team has had a knack for forgetting about bad weeks quickly, and hopefully we can do that this week, too.“

Busch’s finish at Loudon sent him spiraling from first to eighth entering Race 2 of the Chase. He now trails co-leaders Johnson and Carl Edwards by 74 points, marking the first time since the spring race at RIR that he hasn’t been the points leader.

Fortunately for Busch, he’ll try to make his way back to the top at a racetrack on which he captured one of his series-high eight victories. In June, he led 158 laps in winning the Best Buy 400 at Dover, seizing command of the race as his crew outperformed Edwards’ crew on pit road.

“We probably didn’t have the best race car there in June,“ Busch said. “But, we were really good there on long runs and had a big day from the guys on pit road.“

Busch dominated the second half of the race. No one, except Edwards and Greg Biffle, had a chance to close, in part, because the last 153 laps were contested under green.

“We really didn’t start off the day with the car where we wanted it to be,“ Busch said. “It was just another example of why this team has gotten us to where we’re at this year, and we aren’t going to give up.“

No one expects Busch to go away quietly. But his No. 18 Toyota will have to be at its very best to catch Johnson, who has become the preeminent closer on the Sprint Cup tour.

“There’s always peaks and valleys, and guys always seem to really peak either before or during the Chase,“ said Denny Hamlin, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. “It’s hard to see someone really stay on top for an entire year simply because when someone goes out there and dominates it just forces everyone else to go to work.“

Now, it’s time for Busch to prove he can work his way back to the top.