Kyle Busch: Strong start shows his championship "wasn't some fluke"

Busch missed the first 11 races of the 2015 season with a broken leg and foot. He returned for last May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, won multiple races and got in the Top 30 of driver points, which allowed him to make the Chase.

From there, he ended up as one of four drivers competing for the series championship in the season finale at Homestead, Fla., and earned his first title and the first for Toyota.

Momentum is on his side

So far this season, Busch has two wins in the first seven races and has finished worse than fourth just once (25th at Fontana, Calif.). He has essentially picked up where he left off last season and doing so in races in which he wasn’t able to compete last season.

“I think momentum is momentum,” Busch said Friday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. “What we did last year with me coming back and sort of struggling the first five races a little bit and then sort of taking off in the summer months, having some good results and keeping that together through the end of the season and winning the championship – I think that just sort of solidified our team’s ability and what we were all about.

“We weren’t some fluke that ended up in the Chase. It gives us great pride and strength to know that we’ve come out this year, and besides a tire failure at California, that we’ve had top-five (finishes) at every race. We’ve been really, really strong.”

Some race fans continue to grumble over the fact Busch was able to compete for, let alone win, the championship last season despite missing almost a third of the races.

Busch, as well as his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing – Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – have consistently been among the fastest cars each week this season in practice, qualifying and the race.

In a sport where perception can be seen as important as reality, Busch’s continued dominance likely needles those who insist he somehow cut corners in winning last year’s title.

“Adam (Stevens, Busch’s crew chief) and the guys again have done a great job for me to give me cars that are good to drive and that keep us up front,” Busch said. “I don’t think it’s anything short of what we’re all about and I think what we should be able to do it from here on out.”

Jeff Gordon praises Kyle Busch's growth as a driver

Busch’s continued strong performance has also drawn praise from one of his former competitors, Jeff Gordon, who is now watching from the Fox Sports TV broadcast booth.

“I’m so impressed with what Kyle Busch is doing. We always knew he had tremendous talent – raw talent – but he was young, and when he was young and aggressive, he was hitting the wall, he was making mistakes,” Gordon said.

“He has matured so much. He’s now poised to not just do what he’s doing – winning big races, knocking off tracks he’s never won at before and winning championships – but he’s going to go on and do more and more and more.

“He’s now patient, humble, appreciative and a better race car driver than I’ve ever seen him.”

And certainly not a fluke.