Kyle Busch (8 wins, 15 top 5′s, 17 top 10′s, 118 driver rating)
Why He’s Here: The first 26 races of 2008 have been nearly perfect for Kyle Busch. After his switch to Joe Gibbs Racing, and maybe more importantly an extra year of experience, Busch has had a career year. 15 top 5′s and 17 top 10′s and 1580 laps led and a spot atop the standings thanks to his eight wins. Not only has Busch won a lot of races, but he’s won at almost every type of track: 1.5 mile high banked (Atlanta), 1.5 mile flat (Chicago), restrictor plate (Talladega, Daytona), 1 mile (Dover). Busch will see each of these types of tracks during the Chase.
Best Tracks: Busch won races at Talladega and Daytona earlier this year, and led the most laps at the Daytona 500. He also excels at high-banked tracks like Dover and Atlanta, both on the Chase menu. While he hasn’t run as well at flat 1 mile tracks this year, he has also been very strong in the past at Loudon and Phoenix.
Achilles: Busch hasn’t traditionally run well at Homestead, which could be a vital race. While he’s never finished better than 20th at Homestead, he also hasn’t had a lot to run for in previous years. With a championship trophy to serve as a carrot, Busch will have plenty of incentive.
Outlook: It’s hard to say much wrong about the #18 team so far this year. They have won races by dominating start to finish (Darlington, Sonoma), via fast pit stops (Dover), daring late passes (Chicago) and overcoming adversity (Talladega). The other small issue is Busch’s temperament. In the past he’s allowed his emotions to get him into bad situations and it’s possible again. If he has a bad day, will he sulk and not race for maximum points? It’s nitpicking at this point because Busch has lived a charmed life this year and there are no signs of that changing during the Chase. He will face stiff competition from both Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson, but the tracks line up well for Busch.