Kurt Busch, championship contender?
Bob Pockrass
Bob Pockrass began covering NASCAR in 1992, primarily covering short-track racing and events. He has worked for Street & Smith's Motorsports Group since 2003.
One of the biggest surprises, and maybe still one of the biggest questions, of 2009 is Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch.
Is it time to start considering Busch, who finished 18th in points last year but is now fourth in points and looking like a solid bet to get into the Chase For The Sprint Cup, a legitimate championship contender?
Well, although he’s fourth in points, one would be correct to still consider him a dark horse for the title. Of course, he was a dark horse in 2004 when he won, so maybe that’s a good thing for Busch fans.
One win and six top-five finishes in the first 18 races is certainly nothing to sneeze at. And while Busch seems to run with the leaders, he hasn’t led enough laps to give the impression that he could be dominant in the Chase.
When it comes to the championship, drivers have proved in the last few years that they need to win and consistently be in the top five. Jimmie Johnson had 17 top-five finishes over the 30 races in the three years he won the title. Stewart won the title with only four top-fives in the 2005 Chase. Busch, when he won the first Chase, had six top-five finishes.
Busch had only four top-five finishes in the first 26 races of 2004, so he has proved that he can turn it up for the final 10 to win the title.
If his team can make some slight improvements, he might be right in the thick of things again in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. One thing is for sure: Whether he’s a serious championship contender or not, fourth in points right now is better than 17th, which is where Busch was a year ago after the second race at Daytona.
