Busch’s three victories at Dover Motor Speedway make him the winningest driver in Sunday’s field. And not only does he have an enviable assortment of trophies, but his 14 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes are also best in the field.
Certainly, it’s a healthy dose or statistical feathers-in-your-cap, but the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet is still racing for his first trophy in the series since June, 2023.
The two-time series champion is ranked 18th in the Playoff standings – only 37 points behind the all-important 16th place position currently held by Bubba Wallace; and only three points behind Ryan Preece, the first driver outside the cutoff line.
Busch conceded Saturday that he’s well aware of his situation. And encouraged by back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Chicago and Sonoma, Calif. road courses in the two weeks heading to Dover’s famed, Monster Mile.
“I mean, you’re obviously looking at it [the standings] every week,’’ said Busch, who has a combined nine additional wins in the NASCAR Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Dover too. “I think we leave probably the fifth race of the year looking at points, like where we’re at and what are we doing?
“But honestly, points take care of themselves when you run good. Results are what matters. Being able to get stage points and being able to get good finishes will all equate to higher point totals and you not having to look at the sheet. So obviously with a ‘win and you’re in’, you really don’t have to pay any attention to it.
“That’s certainly on our radar right now. We’ve had a couple of good weeks where we’ve made up some of the deficit. I feel like there is potential and opportunity for us to continue that way, and we want to continue to climb that way and put ourselves above the cut for making the playoffs.