Gluck: Kyle Busch writing story for the ages
INDIANAPOLIS — Everything about Kyle Busch’s 2015 season defies logic and explanation, one of those this-can’t-be-happening series of events only sports can seem to provide.
It’s a story about luck – good and bad – and perseverance and exceptional talent overcoming long odds.
Two months after returning from a badly broken leg and foot suffered the day before the season-opening Daytona 500, Busch is tied for the series lead in victories after what he termed the ''biggest win of my career."
He’s now won four out of the past five races, with the latest victory coming in NASCAR’s second-biggest race of the season Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Not bad for a guy who just two days ago was being asked why he’d never won one of NASCAR’s big three races (the Daytona 500, Brickyard and the Coca-Cola 600).
“This doesn’t happen very often in sports where you have a story like this, particularly pro sports,” said Joe Gibbs, the three-time Super Bowl champion coach who owns Busch’s car. “It’s just very hard to do.”
But Busch is making it look easy, and now might be the favorite to win his first championship.
The caveat? He hasn’t even clinched a Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff spot yet.
VIDEO: Kyle Busch doesn't care what others say
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is 32nd in the points standings, and wins only count toward a playoff invitation if drivers are in the top 30. He has six races left to make up the 23-point deficit to 30th-place Justin Allgaier, which is no sure thing despite Busch's recent hot streak.
But his chances now are certainly better than Feb. 21, when Busch was taken to a Daytona Beach hospital with his leg snapped in half like a pencil. He later said he seriously wondered if he’d ever race again.
Once doctors told him he’d make a full recovery, Busch began months of intensive physical therapy. He had to learn how to walk again, and his chances of making the Chase certainly didn’t look promising as weeks — 11 races — took place without him.
"There was nothing I could do about it,” he said. “It’s not like I was on a vacation. It was pretty tough to fight through all those things. Ever since being able to get back walking again, it was, ‘OK, how long now (until he could drive)?’ "
Even after he returned and was granted a waiver, costly crashes in two of his early starts wiped out a chunk of potential points. He was all but eliminated from contention in some minds, with people whispering the deficit was just too much to overcome.
Then he won at Sonoma Raceway and started his three-in-a-row streak two weeks later at Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and now Indianapolis.
One of the most remarkable aspects of his run is the Chase system is set up so that something like this shouldn’t be happening. Busch would have every right to play it conservative and simply go points racing right now — he just has to stay out of trouble and average top-20 finishes, after all.
VIDEO: Kyle Busch wins his first Brickyard 400
Instead, he’s embarked on one of the great streaks in NASCAR’s Chase Era (only Jimmie Johnson has won three or more straight races since 2004). Drivers just don’t win races in bunches during this age of parity; last year, Brad Keselowski’s series-high six victories were spread out over 30 races.
Of course, there are those who believe Busch shouldn't even be eligible for the Chase after missing 11 races. Fans are used to seeing drivers have to race every week to make the playoff, and the idea of someone winning it while missing so much of the regular season is hard to grasp.
But Busch compared himself to a quarterback in reasoning why it shouldn't be a big deal.
"Tom Brady is probably going to be suspended for the first four games of the season (because of Deflategate) and then he's probably going to go on and compete for a championship ... and I doubt anybody is going to take away a Super Bowl from that gentleman," Busch said.
It’s hard to believe Busch gave his competitors such a big head start and now has more victories than anyone but six-time Cup champion Johnson (who also has four).
And it’s not like Busch has seized on one type of track and won all his races on those circuits. His wins have come on a road course, an intermediate track, a 1-mile track and now on the unique 2.5-mile flat track at the Brickyard.
“This is just a run that I don’t know that anybody would have ever imagined, including myself or my wife or my team,” Busch said. “We’re going to bask in the moment and enjoy it.”
It’s all developing into a story worthy of a sports documentary someday. And the best part? The ending hasn’t been written yet.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
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