Throughout the many years of racing, those who follow the sport intently have watched great champions overcome monumental challenges to race to victory, and to championships. The dominance of drivers like Jeff Gordon, John Force, Michael Schumacher, and Ricky Carmichael only comes by being able to overcome great obstacles in their journeys, both on and off the track. Race fans could be witnessing this once again, but this time with Kyle Busch.
At the dawn of his career, anyone could have seen the potential the young driver carried. Starting out at Hendrick Motorsports, Busch quickly climbed through to the Cup level and wowed many with his skills on the track. However, his demeanor both off and on the track at times, and his conflicts with other drivers would get the better of him, costing him his relationship at Hendrick Motorsports when they added Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But when one door closed, another door opened. Busch quickly found a new home at Joe Gibbs Racing, and nearly instant success as well driving their Toyotas. And while the late 2000s were magical years for Busch in terms of wins across all three national touring series of NASCAR competition, he was only able to collect one national championship, in the then Nationwide Series. Even after a season where he and Carl Edwards battled for wins regularly in 2008, he crumbled during the Chase, crashing from the top of the standings to near the bottom.
Kyle Busch remained slow to recover from his disappointment in 2008, and has yet to mount quite a charge like that year for the Sprint Cup title since. That is, until a little misfortune at Daytona International Speedway nearly destroyed but saved his 2015 season.
As the NASCAR Xfinity Series began their season at the opening race at Daytona, Kyle Busch was one of the favorites to win. However, his efforts to do so would tragically be cut short during a wreck on the frontstretch where Busch went head first into a concrete wall that had no SAFER barrier. He suffered from a broken leg and foot after the crash, and would miss the majority of the start of the Sprint Cup Series season.
In his time out of the seat, drivers like David Ragan and Erik Jones would fill his place. But off the track, Busch continued to work to recover faster than his doctors had projected. He would return to the track nearly three months earlier than anticipated, and received a medical exemption from NASCAR to compete for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Then the real chase was on. And it wasn’t what Busch was chasing any longer.
It wouldn’t be long before Busch would return to victory lane in the premier series. Ironically, it happened at a track most expected him to struggle at, the winding twists and turns of Sonoma Raceway. He would repeat the feat at Kentucky. And New Hampshire. And now Indianapolis.
It was no longer a matter of Kyle Busch chasing a spot in the Chase itself, that was just a formality. Now, it was all the other drivers on track chasing him.
Like all the great champions before him, Kyle Busch has had many obstacles in his career, from his bravado to his injury earlier this season. But with much of those in the rear view mirror, NASCAR fans could be witnessing the birth of the next great champion.
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