Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images
For the first time in a long time, Kyle Busch looked mortal.
Riding a streak of 14 top-five finishes in 17 races dating back to last year – a stretch that included four wins – the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion delved into a four-race tailspin in which he placed no better than 30th beginning at Dover (30th) and capped off with a 40th at Michigan.
Despite the setback, Busch seems back to his old ways following performances of seventh and second at Sonoma and Daytona, respectively.
On Saturday, Busch will vie for his fourth victory of the season in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) where he is the defending winner and ranks tied with Brad Keselowski for first on the all-time list with two triumphs.
“We left Michigan with a DNF and headed to the test there in Kentucky, but Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys weren’t discouraged,” Busch said of his cold streak. “We had run well, we just didn’t have any luck.”
Statistically, Busch is the top competitor at Kentucky. He leads all active drivers at the 1.5-mile track in driver rating (129.1), average finish (3.8), average running position (4.6) and laps led (437).
Past success might not be the best indicator of performance in Saturday’s race since Kentucky underwent a repave in the offseason.
“As for this weekend, there’s just a lot of unknowns going there with the repave and it’s essentially like going to a completely different venue,” Busch said. “At the same time, our cars are fast with this 18 M&M’S team, we can run up front, and we can finish in the top-five in every race. We’ve just had some bad luck that has kept us from some other good finishes. Those finishes are frustrating, but I feel a bit better knowing that we have fast cars and are capable of finishing in the top-five every week.”