Kurt Busch Is A Legitimate Championship Contender In 2016

When NASCAR introduced its latest Chase format back in 2014, they placed an unprecedented emphasis on winning. A driver could, theoretically, simply survive through the first three rounds of the Chase playoff system, and then go out and win the race at Homestead and be declared the Sprint Cup champion.

We saw Ryan Newman almost spoil NASCAR’s new format in its very first year, nearly taking home the 2014 Sprint Cup championship despite not winning once. He finished 2nd to Kevin Harvick in that final Homestead race, who was more than deserving of being declared the 2014 champ. Last season, Kyle Busch–even after missing the first eleven races due to an injury–won five of the last twenty-five races and grabbed his first Sprint Cup championship.

Kyle is already off to a great start in 2016, with three wins in the first eleven races along with nine total top 5s. The #18 Toyota has been strong enough to win pretty much any race this season, and it’s hard not to consider Kyle Busch the favorite among Sprint Cup drivers to win the 2016 trophy. OddsShark lists him as the current favorite at 5-to-1. But what about his brother, Kurt?

The Other Busch

While most of the NASCAR world is marveling at what Kyle Busch is accomplishing on the track, Kurt Busch is actually putting together a great start to the 2016 season. After the first eleven races, Kurt sits 5th in the points standings, sandwiched right there between Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski–who both have two wins a piece.

But before we talk about this season, let’s take a look back to 2015.

The 2015 season marked the beginning of what has turned out to be a very good crew chief-driver combination with Tony Gibson joining Kurt Busch and the #41 team. After compiling just one total win from 2012 to 2014, Kurt broke through with victories at both Richmond and Michigan last season. Even more impressive, though? Kurt posted his best ever average finish since joining the Sprint Cup Series with 11.1. His previous best was way back in 2004, when he had an average result of 12.5. Oh, and that was also the year that Kurt won the Sprint Cup championship.

Still, this #41 team was building on something to end the 2015 season, as Kurt posted six top 10 finishes in the final seven races. He didn’t advance to the final round of the Chase last year, but that was more due to a poor result at Martinsville to start the Eliminator Round.

Can Kurt Busch Win It All In 2016?

The #41 Chevrolet hasn’t made its way into victory lane this season, but Kurt Busch has shown similar consistency that Ryan Newman did in 2014 (with higher finishes, actually) when “The Rocketman” almost stole the title without a win. Through the first eleven Sprint Cup races of 2016, Kurt has accrued nine top 10 finishes and just one result worse than 13th. That’s the main reason that he is sitting so high in the points standings and ahead of guys that have already been to victory lane and locked themselves into this year’s Chase.

Speaking of which, even if Kurt Busch doesn’t win before NASCAR’s playoffs start, it would take a collapse of epic proportions for him not to make the Chase this year. Yeah, I can already say that with confidence despite the fact that we’re not even halfway through the “regular season.” And once The Chase starts, you never know how it’s going to play out. While winning is the only way to guarantee yourself a spot in the next round, it is in no way a necessity.

So, to put it simply, yes, Kurt Busch can absolutely contend for the Sprint Cup championship this year. Having a good month or two of races can be written off as a fluke. The fact that he and his new crew chief, Tony Gibson, put together the best season (statistically) that Kurt has ever had in NASCAR’s top series was a statement. The fact that they have improved even more in their second year together shows that, if the pieces fall in just the right places, Kurt Busch could very well grab his second career championship this November–he just might have to wish some bad luck on his brother for that to happen.