September 19, 2020 | By Lee Spencer

Kurt Busch is anything but an underdog at Bristol

Hearing Kurt Busch described as a dark horse at Bristol is simply ridiculous. 

After all, the former Cup champion has six victories at Thunder Valley—just two fewer than his brother Kyle, who leads all active drivers at the half-mile track. Sure, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet might be at a slight disadvantage due to the lack of performance at Ganassi Racing—particularly at short tracks, where only one of the organization’s 13 wins came on a track of less than a mile (Richmond).

But on talent alone, Busch, 42, should be considered a frontrunner. And with Bristol serving as the cutoff race before the Round of 12, Busch’s confidence is brimming. 

“Any time you can go to a track that you’ve had past success at, it lends to just better feelings,” Busch said. “I enjoy Bristol. It’s a track that I look forward to going to and I get amped up for. I’m ready for the challenges that Bristol brings.” 

In his last four Bristol starts, Busch has a win and a podium. He hasn’t finished worse than ninth. Currently, Busch is 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings with a seven-point advantage over William Byron, who is 13th. 

Although last week's Cup race at Richmond appeared pretty tame, the complexion wasn't a huge departure from the 2019 Playoff contest. With Bristol's move to its new position on the schedule as a postseason cutoff race, there's a new set of challenges for the teams. 

But will the dynamic change?

“The anxiety will be higher, the nerves of course, and just the overall ambiance and excitement,” Busch said. “But in all reality, everybody’s got so much riding on the line, and everybody’s got to protect their race car, get the points that they can, not run into somebody and get a fender rub. That’s what led to Richmond’s lack of excitement and that could end up happening at Bristol. 

“Which then that’s a question of, 'Well, wait a minute, maybe we need to move this race back to August,' when guys aren’t necessarily worried about points as much and let the rough edges drag, dump somebody or wreck some cars and not have to pay such a big points penalty. That’s the difference in Playoff racing—everybody is making sure they’re getting every point possible and, therefore, they’re driving more cautiously.”

Still, there are plenty of unknowns entering Saturday's Night Race at the Last Great Coliseum. Not only has the pandemic changed the parameters leading into the weekend—with a lack of testing and especially practice—but alterations to the track and the tire can wreak havoc on the race teams.

“The Night Race, getting back to the PJ-1 traction compound, you hope that it all gets burned in and that the outside lane comes into play,” Busch said. “But each time we go back to Bristol, there’s just these little weird things that the track is doing that SMI might not tell NASCAR. NASCAR might not tell SMI. And then there’s the Goodyear tire that shows up with different stager values, even though it’s the same tire code. So, there’s a lot of little things at Bristol all the time. 

“But with this being a cutoff, you have to just go in there and do it. Get the job done, don’t shy away from the pressure. Even after this round, you have to go to the Roval and advance through it to get to the round after that. And then you have to go to Martinsville to go through that round if you’re going to have a shot at the championship.

"This Playoff format is genius for the anxiety level for all the drivers and teams.”

Unless you're Kurt Busch at Bristol.