Photo Credit: Steven Muncie/OnPitRoad.com
Kurt Busch earned his fourth top-five finish of the 2017 season finishing third on Sunday night at Darlington Raceway. The third-place finish is his best finish since winning NASCAR’s crown jewel event, the Daytona 500, to open the season.
Coming on strong in recent weeks, Busch has earned four finishes inside the top-10 in the last four races with two of those inside the top-five.
While the last string of races have been what Busch has needed to turn around his season, despite a win in the Daytona 500, his season has been one of not much to remember. A somewhat lackluster start to the year, Busch accumulated five finishes outside the top-20 in the first 10 races of 2017. Now, with a good showing at Darlington, the driver is flexing his muscle at the opportune time.
“I thought that we had a great battle tonight. It was a lot of fun with the Monster Energy Ford.” Busch said following the race. “To be in position to win the Southern 500, it throws chills down your spine. With about 100 laps to go I knew we were close. I was hoping that we would find the right strategy to come out ahead. The 78 was fast, and those other Toyota’s came in there. I thought that I was going to do it for our Fords. We didn’t quite get the job done. To be in position to win the Southern 500, I just want to give a shoutout to all the fans. It’s a fun weekend to be here on Labor Day weekend.”
With one race left in the regular season, Busch has yet another chance to capitalize and add to the momentum he’s already earned this weekend at Richmond Raceway, a track he’s won at twice. A victory next weekend would give Busch five extra playoff points, something all playoff eligible drivers will be searching for.
