One day after Sam Mayer kept his Xfinity Series playoffs alive with an all-or-nothing victory at the Roval, Busch found himself in position to do the same in Sunday’s Cup race.
Busch entered the race last in points among the 12 remaining playoff drivers and only a win would move him to the semifinal round.
He spent almost the entire final 59-lap final stage of Sunday’s race battling eventual winner A.J. Allmendinger for the lead, until William Byron caught him for second place in the final laps.
Busch ended up third in the race but last in the playoff standings, a victim of poor finishes at Talladega and Texas in the previous two races.
“The guys gave me a great piece today. The (car) was pretty fast, just lacked a little bit on the long run, just didn’t quite have the feel of the tire that I was really looking for to be able to turn into the corners and to be able to drive out of the corners and keep pace with the front two there at the end,” Busch said.
“Overall, this ride is on me anyways. The first two weeks of this round were obviously not very good, and we didn’t score any points. That’s where it’s at. That’s where it lies. Texas, Talladega, just not being able to execute and do a good job when points were on the line.
“It sucks to be out this early, but let us do Texas over again, and I feel like we’re right there. We’re ready.”
It has still been a successful year for Busch, who moved to Richard Childress Racing after more than 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing.
He has won three times this season, qualified for the playoffs and doesn’t intend to allow his elimination from further playoff contention to deter him from trying to return to Victory Lane.
“That’s what we want to do, go out on a high and win a few more races,” Busch said. “That would definitely be good. You know, I look forward to Vegas. Vegas is my home track so I want to go out there and run good.
“Then we’ve got Homestead, which has always been a pretty good track for me, and of course Phoenix, as well. I would love to be the spoiler on that Sunday. That would be fun.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, but we’ll keep building, and first year at RCR means a lot to me for Richard (Childress) having me and for the Chevy guys having me, everybody, to get this far.”
