Now reinstated, what must Kurt Busch do to make the Chase?
Now that Kurt Busch has been reinstated by NASCAR, his immediate task at hand is to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Although he missed the first three races of the season and enters Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway with no championship driver points, Busch is in solid shape to attempt to win a second title to go with the one he won in 2004, the first year of the Chase format.
Busch will begin his quest Sunday at PIR, where Stewart-Haas officials confirmed he will be back behind the wheel.
To qualify for the Chase, Busch probably has to win one of the remaining 23 races in the Sprint Cup regular season and finish in the top 30 in points at the conclusion of the regular season. Right now, Busch is 42 points out of 30th place.
Last year, the 30th-place driver had 407 points after the 26th race. In 2013, the 30th-place driver had 396 points after 26 races.
So to make it into the top 30, Busch would probably have to average about 17 to 18 points per race over the next 23 races. Last year in races No. 4-26, Busch averaged 25.6 points per race, well ahead of what he should need.
Given that he drives for SHR, the organization that won last year's championship and two of the past four titles, Busch will likely have competitive cars.
He will probably need to win at least one race to make the Chase, though.
In 2014, 13 drivers qualified for the Chase by winning races, while Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth made it in by being the three winless drivers with the most points. With missing three races so far, it is unlikely, though not impossible, that Busch could make it in on points alone.
Last year, Busch's only victory of the season came in the spring race at Martinsville Speedway, which put him in the Chase. He ended the year 12th in points.
