Kurt Busch
CREW CHIEF: Matt McCall
TEAM: Chip Ganassi Racing
POINTS: 10th in NASCAR Cup Series
WINS: One (Las Vegas II)
LAPS LED: 169
TOP 5s: 7
TOP 10s: 19
POLES: One (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte)
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Busch delivered one of the biggest surprises of the playoffs by winning at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was his first Cup Series win at LVMS in 22 tries, and it also snapped a 46-race winless streak dating back to July 2019 at Kentucky Speedway.
Restrictions related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic kept fans from attending at LVMS, but Busch still got to celebrate his win with a helicopter ride over the glittering Las Vegas Strip.
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) September 28, 2020
A solid spring enabled Busch to recover from a season-opening crash at the Daytona 500 and a 25th-place finish at LVMS in February. Over the next 11 races, he claimed nine top-10 finishes and qualified on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Busch’s fifth and final DNF of the season was his most costly. An engine failure in the Round of 8 opener at Kansas forced him into a must-win situation over the next two races to make the Championship 4. Busch couldn’t pull it off and was eliminated after finishing seventh at Texas and fifth at Martinsville.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021: Busch returns for his third season with Chip Ganassi Racing and gets a new teammate in Ross Chastain.