20 Days 'Til Daytona - Today's Featured Driver: Kurt Busch

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500.  Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 

 

10th Place – Kurt Busch – 2287 pts

 

By the Numbers:

 

11 Years – Kurt Busch has been a regular Cup Series driver for 20 years, and has been competing against his brother Kyle since 2004.  For the majority of their duelling careers, Kyle has gotten the better of Kurt, statistically speaking.  However, in 2020 Kurt had a better average finish than Kyle for the first time in 11 years.

 

32ndCareer Win – 2020 brought Kurt Busch his 32ndcareer win, continuing a streak of winning at least one race per year that dates back to 2014.  While the wins haven’t come all that frequently, Kurt Busch is usually good for at least one win a year, and therefore an appearance in the playoffs.

 

720 Career Starts – Making him the driver with the longest tenure in the Cup Series currently, Kurt Busch’s 720 career starts puts him two starts ahead of Kevin Harvick.  Notable drivers who are also up there include Ryan Newman (689), Jimmie Johnson (now retired, but finished with 686), and Kyle Busch (570).

 

5 Top 10s in a Row – Starting at the 2020 Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, Kurt Busch went on a run of 5 Top 10s in a row.  He finished 7th, 5th, 7th, 6th and 9th.  Stretches of consistency like this led to him making the playoffs on just points alone – though he did end up winning at his ‘home’ track, Las Vegas, to continue his playoff run.

 

6 Finishes outside of the Top 20 – Since Kurt Busch won his one and only championship in 2004, he has been a driver to be counted on every year.  He may not be a championship contender each year, but he is consistently reliable.  This was proven once again in 2020, where he finished outside of the Top 20 only 6 times in 36 races. 

 

Kurt Busch returns to the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet in 2021.  He will have a new teammate in Ross Chastain who is taking over the No. 42.

 

Coming up in two days – Ryan Blaney

 

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