2014 Driver Reviews: No. 10 Kyle Busch

After doing exit interviews for Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2013, we’re turning the tables. We want the drivers to sell themselves. So here are the resumés for all full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2014. Then, at the end, we’ll provide a summation of the driver’s season in 150 words or less.

Name: Kyle Busch

NASCAR Experience: 10 full seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. 141 wins across NASCAR’s three national series.

Most recent team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Most recent season finish: 10th

2014 accomplishments: One win, nine top fives, 15 top 10s. 12 Seven Nationwide Series wins in 26 races and seven truck series races in 10 races.

Most memorable moment: The win at Auto Club Speedway in the Cup Series, was an appropriate bit of dejå vu, though it wasn’t as dramatic as the win in 2013.

Strengths: Arguably the most adaptable driver in the Sprint Cup Series.

2015 goals: See Chase success. Sure, a title needs to happen sooner rather than later, but a third top-five finish in the standings is a good and realistic goal.

FTM’s Take: Talladega can be so cruel. Busch had top 10 finishes in the first five races of the Chase yet was eliminated at Talladega because he crashed and finished 40th. (Yes, another lesson about how avoiding bad finishes is imperative to Cup Series success.)

The wheels fell off over the last two races of the season and instead of vying for fifth in the final standings Busch ended up in 10th.

Thanks to a summer swoon, the Chase actually inflated Busch’s season standing. After back-to-back second place finishes at New Hampshire and Indy, Busch finished 36th or below in four consecutive weeks and dropped to 17th in the standings.

Barring something incredibly unforeseen, Busch will win a race or three in 2015 and make the Chase. Then we’ll all wonder how Busch’s title hopes will turn out once again. Just remember that he was title-worthy for the first half of the playoffs in 2014.

Previous reviews: No. 11 Jimmie Johnson, No. 12 Kurt Busch, No. 13 AJ Allmendinger, No. 14 Greg Biffle, No. 15 Kasey Kahne, No. 16 Aric Almirola, No. 17 Kyle Larson, No. 18, Jamie McMurray, No. 19 Clint Bowyer, No. 20, Austin Dillon, No. 21 Paul Menard, No. 22 Brian Vickers, No. 23 Marcos Ambrose, No. 24 Martin Truex Jr., No. 25 Tony Stewart, No. 26 Casey Mears, No. 27 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 28, Danica Patrick, No. 29, Justin Allgaier, No. 30, David Gilliland, No. 31 Cole Whitt, No. 32 David Ragan, No. 33 Michael Annett, No. 34 Reed Sorenson, No. 35 Alex Bowman