Kyle Busch granted waiver, must be in top 30 to make Chase
Kyle Busch has been granted a waiver for the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup. However, it only waves the requirement that a driver must attempt to qualify for every race.
“On behalf of everyone at NASCAR, it’s great to have Kyle Busch back racing,” NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell, said in a statement. “Our decision to grant Kyle a waiver that allows him to continue running for a championship is one we discussed extensively. The spirit of the rule never was designed to punish drivers who are unable to compete due to extenuating circumstances such as recovering from a racing accident.”
Busch has missed the first 11 races of the season after he broke his right leg and left foot in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona. He’s returning to the seat of a Sprint Cup Series car on Saturday for the Sprint All-Star Race with the hopes of competing the rest of the season. The next points race is the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.
With winners receiving all but an automatic berth into the Chase, NASCAR requires drivers to be in the top 30 in points and attempt every race. It’s been very liberal with the use of waivers regarding the every race mandate, as Busch is now the fourth driver to get one in less than two years along with Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers and his brother, Kurt Busch (We’ve written how NASCAR needs to drop the every race requirement here).
NASCAR CEO Brian France had said previously that the sport wanted to figure out a way to get Busch eligible for the Chase. At the time of France’s comments, a public timeline for Busch’s return was unknown and the driver was non-committal about being in a car in time for the series’ return trip to Daytona in July.
With a July return date, it would have been almost impossible for Busch to get into the top 30 in points. Now, with 15 races remaining before the Chase, it’s a difficult task. But not insurmountable. As we said yesterday, if Busch comes back and can average a 15th-place finish until the Chase begins, he’d get in the top 30 based off the pace of Tony Stewart, the driver 30th in points currently.
Of course, simply getting into the top 30 isn’t going to be enough to make the Chase. Busch also has to win a race for this conversation to even become reality. He’s got 15 chances to do it.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
