Kurt Busch was eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs last week, but the defending South Point 400 winner has plenty of reason to believe a repeat victory could be in the cards.
The Las Vegas native has one win this season, at Atlanta Motor Speedway – a 1.5-mile oval like Las Vegas Motor Speedway – and nine of Busch’s career victories have come on intermediate tracks.
Busch, the driver of the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet starts 20th, 10 spots lower than younger brother Kyle – who makes his 600th career Cup Series start today.
Kyle Busch hasn’t won at Las Vegas since March of 2009 – but the two-time series champion has finished seventh or better in five of his last seven starts at his home track.
The Sin City duo will have to beat the series’ winningest driver, polesitter Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., who’s bagged six wins this year and enters today’s race as the championship points leader.
Larson is the most recent Cup Series winner at LVMS. The 29-year-old driver of the No. 5 Tarlton and Son Chevrolet led 103 of 267 laps on his way to a convincing win over Brad Keselowski in March.
Keselowski’s Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, rolls off beside Larson on the front row. William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick complete the top five positions when the field goes green.
The South Point 400, the first race of the Playoffs Round of 12, gets underway at 4 p.m. Tickets are available at www.LVMS.com. Kids 12 and under get in free with a ticketed adult.
