The Round of 12 has begun, and Kurt Busch of all people has a spot locked up in the Round of 8. Busch, who was the only playoff driver on the lead lap when a debris caution interrupted a round of green-flag pit stops late in the race, stayed up front through two more cautions, held off Matt DiBenedetto and a few playoff drivers on the final restart, and won at his hometown track. It was a season-changing win for the 42-year-old, putting him back in the spotlight for the first time in years.
Is it good for NASCAR to have the outlaw back in it? It probably depends who you ask. While Busch was never charged following domestic violence allegations back in 2014-15, he did serve a suspension for it. He’s kept a noticeably lower profile since those allegations than he did in his career prior to the incident (I’m not sure when the last time was the guy cussed out a reporter), but it’s hard to know what that signifies, if it signifies anything at all. Domestic violence allegations of any kind are—of course—terrible (it is absurd that there is a need to say this, but here we are), and while we don’t know exactly what happened, it needs to be considered when considering this Busch brother.
Early in his career, Busch was often labeled as “hated,” and he’s been at the center of a lot of incidents with other drivers, which I’d imagine keeps the loathing burning in the furnaces of a good chunk of fans. Having hated drivers is probably good for NASCAR. There’s also the matter of his allegations that his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, was a trained assassin (Google it, it’s wild). That, while concerning, is also the kind of thing that is nowhere near reaching its limit in cultural relevance. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Kurt Busch accused his ex-girlfriend in court of being a trained assassin. It happened in 2015. He won last night at Las Vegas.
How the Losers Fared
“If you ain’t first, you (don’t get a guaranteed spot in the Round of 8).” – Ricky Bobby’s dad.
Here’s how the other eleven remaining playoff drivers fared, along with how far they are back or ahead of Alex Bowman, who’s currently the eighth driver in the standings (we’ll treat Kurt Busch as the leader since he’s locked in).
Austin Dillon (32nd place, 12th in the standings, 32 points back of Bowman)
Bad night for Austin Dillon, who lost his power steering late in the race.
Aric Almirola (17th place, 11th in the standings, 27 points back of Bowman)
Almirola’s made it this far through what seems to be a strategy aimed at racing for points, not wins. Now, he’s in a position of potentially needing a win to get through this round. He did win at Talladega in 2018, so he’s done it before. The question is how aggressive he’s prepared to be next week.
Clint Bowyer (12th place, 10th in the standings, 20 points back of Bowman)
Not a terrible night from Bowyer, but he’s far enough back now that we can hope on him to do something desperate and throw this all into chaos next weekend. Fingers crossed.
Kyle Busch (6th place, 9th in the standings, 9 points back of Bowman)
Solid finish for the younger Busch brother, who’s within striking distance of the top eight even while still being without any wins on the year.
Alex Bowman (5th place, 8th in the standings, 0 points back of Bowman)
Bowman continues to exist. Was out front a bit last night.
Chase Elliott (22nd place, 7th in the standings, 1 point ahead of Bowman)
Elliott had an eventful night, winning the second stage and foreshadowing impending automotive violence against Joey Logano (Elliott called Logano a dipshit over the radio and said, “He needs to get sent sooner or later,” which we’re all about over here). He got stuck behind Ryan Newman on the final restart, costing him around a dozen points. We’ll see if he needs those down the line, but for what it’s worth, he’s very good at road courses, and there’s a road course race in Charlotte to end the Round of 12.
Joey Logano (14th place, 6th in the standings, 2 points ahead of Bowman)
Logano’s not safe. Physically or in the standings. NASCAR wrecks are dangerous. And eventually, someone is going to wreck Joey Logano (in addition to Elliott’s frustration with him, Logano had some contact with Kyle Busch last night).
Martin Truex, Jr (4th place, 5th in the standings, 6 points ahead of Bowman)
Truex is too safe to have an incentive to induce chaos, which is a bummer.
Brad Keselowski (13th place, 4th in the standings, 7 points ahead of Bowman)
Disappointing night for Keselowski, but there’s enough cushion here for him to prioritize disaster avoidance these next two weeks. That said, I’d assume he’ll still be one of the favorites both weeks, like he always is.
Denny Hamlin (3rd place, 3rd in the standings, 49 points ahead of Bowman)
Hamlin went aggressive with tires last night but couldn’t run down the leader at the end. He did win the first stage, and he’s of course alongside Harvick as someone we’d be shocked to not see in the championship.
Kevin Harvick (10th place, 2nd in the standings, 52 points ahead of Bowman)
Was this Harvick’s worst result of the year? I doubt it, but it sure feels that way.
Next Week
Talladega. Sunday afternoon.
