Whatever happened to Kurt Busch?
Remember Kurt Busch? You know, the guy who won the 2004 Cup championship?
The guy who made the Chase last year and won two races?
The guy who finished second in this year's Daytona 500?
Busch is still one of the top five drivers in NASCAR in terms of talent, but this year he hasn't challenged for wins, run up front or made much noise at all en route to the 22nd position in points.
It's gotten so bad, Busch is mentioned more often for being Kyle Busch's older brother than for his success on the track.
That's a true shame. Given his talent, Kurt Busch deserves much better than to run 10th to 15th every week, which is all his cars have really been able to offer.
He certainly hasn't forgotten how to drive. But there's only so much a driver can do with equipment that doesn't allow him to race with the leaders.
It's surprising that Penske Racing hasn't made much of an impact with the new car. Penske has some of the top brains in the business, but it hasn't been able to do much for Busch this year.
Busch has no top-10s other than at Daytona, and he had finished 23rd or worse in five straight races until a 12th-place result at Darlington last week.
Why is that? It's likely Busch is wondering the same thing.
In NASCAR Scene's preseason predictions, 10 of 12 staffers predicted Busch would make the Chase. That seems like a longshot at this point.
But as Kyle Busch continues to dominate the headlines this season, it's worth remembering that there's another Busch who is just as capable of getting to victory lane.
