NASCAR champion Busch tries to stave off elimination

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch, to be clear, was only venting when he said he’d be knocked out of the playoffs this round. The reigning Cup champion insisted he was frustrated and flippant when he wrote off his season.

“I wouldn’t be continuing to go to the racetrack each and every week and pouring my heart and soul into this and taking time away from my family if I didn’t care,” Busch said. “That’s tongue-incheek talk and should be known as that, coming from me, obviously.

“It is what it is, and we’re going to go on this week and fight like hell and try to make it through.”

Here he is on the verge of elimination headed into Sunday’s race on the hybrid road courseoval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch is 21 points below the cutoff line and could become the first reigning champion eliminated in the round of 12 when four are trimmed from the field.

At stake is his bid to become the first driver to win consecutive titles since Jimmie Johnson won five straight from 2006-2010. Busch also would lose his five-year streak of advancing to the championship race, but even worse, his run of at least one win every year since his 2005 rookie season is in serious danger.

Busch doesn’t need to win on the “Roval” to advance, but there’s only five races remaining for him to improve his season. Just one win will tie him for third on the alltime list at 16 consecutive seasons with Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Johnson.

“It’s really important. Think about it, it’s a 16year investment,” Busch said. “It would be nice if I’m able to keep winning races all the way through my career each and every single year that I’m out there.”

Only Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch, Kyle’s older brother, are locked into the round of eight. Below the cutline with Busch are Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer, who recently announced he’s moving to the Fox Sports booth at the end of this season.