The Inside Line: Kyle Busch's chances of making the Chase - 41 NBC News
com) - Kyle Busch won Sunday's road course race in Sonoma, California, but he still has a long way to go to become eligible for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Busch, the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Toyota, missed the first 11 Sprint Cup Series races this season after he suffered a compound fracture of his lower right leg and left foot during an accident in the closing laps of the Xfinity Series... Matt Crafton, David Ragan and Erik Jones shared driving duties in the No. 18 car before Busch returned to competition in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (non-points event) at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the third weekend in May. Competing in five points-paying races this season, Busch has finished 11th (Charlotte), 36th (Dover), ninth (Pocono) and 43rd (Michigan) before his win at Sonoma. Busch has accumulated 125 points this season, which currently ranks him 37th in the Sprint Cup point standings. When Busch returned to racing six weeks ago, NASCAR gave him a medical waiver to remain Chase-eligible. But he must finish in the top 30 in points when the regular season concludes following the Sept. There are 10 regular season races left, and Busch needs an average finish of 14 in those events to make it into the top 30 and therefore become Chase- eligible. "There's no reason why it shouldn't be. This team is good enough to be that way, and I should be good enough to be that way. Source: www.41nbc.com
