A Definitive List of How Other Drivers Fare Against Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch once again reminded everyone why he’s the best driver in the Monster Energy Cup Series today by racking up his fourth win of the 2019 season and tying Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace in the process with his 55th career Cup Series win.

This season seems to be a perilous, 36-week-long game of “Who Can Stop Kyle?” and with that in mind, I have a list of foolish mortals who dare try and defy the odds against this candy-coated juggernaut:

Brad Keselowski – Perhaps the biggest thorn in the side of Busch is longtime rival Brad Keselowski, who has three wins so far this season. It’s easy to see Brad and Kyle tangle for the championship given their on-track scrums over the past decade and with seven wins between them this season, it’s not hard to picture these two battling it out at Homestead. Should that happen, watch out for these two when they crash each other and Brad brings out his dopey confused look that rivals Eli Manning while Kyle’s patented pouty face comes out in full form.

Martin Truex Jr. – I said last week that MTJ was perhaps Busch’s biggest competition this year given his three wins over the last five weeks before Pocono. Truex has also been in the final four for three of the last four years, so it’s not hard to see Truex race for another championship at Phoenix. Busch has so far had the edge though with better consistency that Truex, but make no mistake; MTJ should absolutely be considered a title contender, provided he doesn’t resort to being a pushover and whine later about it.

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin has found success after a winless 2018 with two wins at Daytona and Texas, but his 6th-place finish at Pocono was his first top-10 finish since Richmond five races ago. It’s been a while since Hamlin has been a true title contender, but he’s looking much better this year. Fun fact: This is the first time Hamlin has won multiple races in the first 15 races of a Cup Series season since 2012. Now look for this guy to score like 15 consecutive top 10’s and not once find victory lane again for the year, baffling everyone in the process.

Chase Elliott – Pocono saw Elliott score his fifth consecutive top-five finish. It’s hard to not see Elliott eek out at least two more wins this year, but the drivers he’s losing against, like Truex, Keselowski and Busch make it difficult for him. He’ll need more than pure consistency to make the final four and claim his first championship. Chase needs to close deals. Now enter the dated “Chase sucks” memes.

Kevin Harvick – I hesitated putting Harvick on this list because of his relatively lackluster season so far. Last year at this time, “Happy” had five wins; he has none so far in 2019, and his 22nd-place finish at Pocono dropped him back to fifth in the points standings. However, Harvick has an annoying knack for popping up out of nowhere to steal wins. Since the playoff-based format of the Chase started in 2014, Harvick has been part of all, but one of them. And it isn’t like he’s slumping that much either. He has nine top 10’s in 15 races and some favored tracks of his (Michigan, New Hampshire) are coming up. Expect this team to rebound this summer.

Rest of the Field – Look, Joey Logano entered the 2018 Chase with just one win and wound up winning the championship with his evil Joker smile, so in this day and age, anything can happen once playoff time hits. Unless you’re a Kyle Larson fan; then you’ll be in for a great many disappointments.