Two-time NASCAR champ Busch puts aside problems, focuses on Darlington win to reach playoffs

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch has experienced a maddening, frustrating season so far that's left the two-time Cup Series champion on the outside of a 12th straight NASCAR playoff appearance.

Busch hopes to put past problems aside at Darlington Raceway, where winning the Southern 500 on Sunday night is his only option to keep his postseason streak alive.

“Every week, it just kind of seems like, ‘OK, what’s next?'” Busch said Saturday. “But that's something that we can't change.”

Busch, who has not won in 46 races, nearly clinched his spot at Daytona last week, but lost out on a wild, final lap duel with Harrison Burton. So Busch sits 19th on the playoff grid, 106 points out of the field and knowing his only chance is his first Darlington victory since 2008.

Busch hasn't missed the playoffs since 2012. Yet, he won't let his struggles this year steal his focus in the final race of the regular season.

“You can use that as a distraction or a motivation tool,” said Busch, who won the series championship in 2015 and 2019. “We'll look to make that our motivation.”

That won't be easy at Darlington, where Busch had a seventh-place finish here in May 2023, his best showing since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing two seasons ago to join car owner Richard Childress.

Busch was 27th in the spring event here and never in contention.

“We don't come in this weekend holding our heads low and thinking that we're going to not run well,” Busch said. “We put heads together and try to figure out why and said, ‘We’re going to go there with the best car we can and try kick their butts and get a win.'"

Busch is not alone on the outside.

Chris Buescher, a playoff team a year ago, is on the bubble, without a win this season and 21 points ahead of Bubba Wallace for the final postseason spot. Should there be no new winner — 13 drivers has qualified for the playoffs through race victories — Buescher would be in good position to advance on points.

Buescher, too, knows that victory Sunday is the surest way to continue his championship chase. “Been really close in a lot of races, but haven't sealed the deal,” he said. “Didn't expect to be in this position.”

Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, both playoff drivers a year ago, are 17th and 18th on the grid with hopes to qualify on points

Wallace got a boost heading into Sunday by winning the Southern 500 pole. Buescher qualified 10th, Busch 17th and Chastain 22nd.

Chastain, who's won four times the previous two years, was surprised to be winless. “If you would have had me fill out a bingo card at the start of the season, I wouldn’t have dabbed this block, for sure,” he said.

Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 series champion, is the leading driver without a win currently in the playoffs. He's 58 points above the cutoff and is likely safe in his final Cup Series season. But he's taking nothing for granted.

“I've seen a lot of crazy stuff happen,” he said.

Race for the top

The race to make the playoffs isn't the only one going on at Darlington. Points leader Tyler Reddick is just 17 points head of 2021 series champion Kyle Larson for the regular-season title and the critical 15 bonus playoff points. Second place in standings receives 10 bonus points.

Reddick and Larson don't plan on tracking each other. Both say they'll rely on their successful history at Darlington and their strong teams this season to finish on top.

“Coming at a place like this, it's pretty much in our control, it's in mine, it's in his,” Reddick said.

Larson has led 785 laps in his career here and won the Southern 500 a year ago.

Reddick was second to Larson at Darlington last September and led 174 laps here this past May.

Trip home

The reaction to Mexico City hosting a NASCAR race in 2025 even surprised Daniel Suarez, who is from Monterrey, Mexico.

NASCAR announced its schedule this week and included its first points-paying race in Mexico.

Suarez said the response from fans and friends of the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event next June has been impressive.

“I'm very, very happy,” he said at Darlington. “This is like a dream come true. Coming from Mexico, being born and raised there, this is something very special.”

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