171_kyle-busch-auto-interview_flashWith the success of Kyle Busch since returning from his injuries sustained during the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona in February, many fans have wondered if NASCAR should give him a pass for the other half of the Chase for The Sprint Cup in which contingency rules state he must be in 30th place or higher in the points standings to qualify for the chase.
In my own personal opinion, I believe that even though Busch will make it in the top 30, if he somehow does not, he should be given a waiver due to his win total (currently highest in Sprint Cup). The nature of his injury, being that it was sustained at a NASCAR sanctioned event, unlike 2013 when Tony Stewart missed the last portion of the season
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I took to social media in hopes of getting fans opinions:
Maureen Kelly host of NASCAR Happy Hour, a popular online NASCAR radio show (http://www.nascarhappyhour.com) says that while she was originally not in favor of it, as she told me via her show after just one win by Busch, but after the second one at Kentucky she was “on the fence” about the matter. Now after the 3rd win at New Hampshire, she believes that NASCAR should allow Busch into the chase regardless of his points position and that it “would be an embarrassment to the sport if he doesn 't race for the title.”
Chris Paquette, owner of the only NASCAR licensed shop in Vermont, C&S Nascar, believes that “as awful of an injury it was and the fact that it wasn 't his fault it was an unfortunate accident” and that “NASCAR made the right choice by enforcing the win and be in the top 30 in the points to make the chase”. He adds as a side note “most fans will agree that this has been some of the best racing Kyle has done since his rookie year because he knows he has to hit the top 30,not only for himself but for Joe Gibbs Racing and his
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dea”
Mitch Walker,host of the Monday Night Results Show on Performance Motorsports Network and longtime NASCAR fan who has been involved in racing since the 60s and 70s says it all started when NASCAR let Jeff Gordon into the chase following controversy surrounding the end of the Richmond race in 2013 where Clint Bowyer intentionally spun his car out in order to cause a caution so that team mate Brian Vickers could pit which kept Gordon out of the chase only to be reinserted later by NASCAR CEO Brian France and that by making the change for Gordon ,”Brian France opened the door for the circus that erupted.” Walker goes on to point out a fact ,that Busch was injured in an Xfinity Series race (if you are not familiar with NASCAR,Xfinity in the second tier series) and that it would be different if Busch had been injured in a Sprint Cup Series race and that because of the fact that Busch was injured in an Xfinity race he should not be eligible for the chase where as if he had been injured in a cup race “sure,let him race his way in.” Walker also brings up a point that i echo and that is,a lot of fans are not in favor of drivers “stepping down” from Sprint Cup to Xfinity or to Camping World Truck Series as those series are for young drivers to get acquainted with the machines before heading to Sprint Cup Series racing and that by drivers like Busch going down to the lower tier series it is taking chances away from the drivers who are regulars in those series such as Ryan Reed,