NASCAR 2015 Episode 9 Recap: Richmond

NASCAR 2015 Episode 9 Recap: Richmond

What went down: Remember when Kurt Busch was suspended for the first three races of the year and everyone was wondering if there was any chance he'd make the top-30 in points, let alone the Chase?

Hahaha, good one.

I could try to talk about other things that went on in the race, such as the multiple incidents Danica Patrick was involved in during the day, or Tony Stewart's kerfuffle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. that kept his season in a downward spiral. But this is all you really need to know.

The Toyota Owners 400 was originally scheduled as a Saturday night race, but rain pushed it to a Sunday afternoon feature, a feature that featured an absolute butt-whippin' by a Stewart-Haas Racing driver (and no, it was not Kevin Harvick). 

Instead, it was Kurt Busch capturing the lead around 100 laps into the race and he never looked back, leading the last half of the race almost exclusively. But this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.

Yes, Busch's teammate Kevin Harvick has been this season's poster-child for domination, but ever since Busch returned from suspension, he's been right on Harvick's heels. He's lead laps in every single race since he's been back with the exception of Phoenix. Shoot, in all honesty he should probably have won Fontana, if some dumbfounding cautions hadn't intervened. And Bristol as well could easily be on Busch's win tally if it weren't for a questionable pit call.

Well late cautions and pit calls be damned, Busch was able to avoid issues with both on Sunday, easily holding off his only true challenger in Jamie McMurray on multiple occasions.

Busch is beginning to show the ability to be the only driver to contend with Harvick each weekend. With a win in his pocket and a big monkey off of his back, it's safe to say Busch is legitimizing himself as a true title contender.

What it means for Busch: This is Busch's second career win at Richmond and his 26th victory overall, tying him for 26th in all-time wins with Hall-of-Famer Fred Lorenzen. Despite missing the first three races of the season, Busch is already well inside the top-20 in points, completely Chase eligible at this point. This also breaks a winless streak of over one year for Busch.

What it means for everyone else: He didn't win, but Kevin Harvick added yet another top-2 finish to his resume in 2015, making that 7 out of 9 races he's been first or second this year.

Jamie McMurray had the only car that could catch and pass Busch on the day. The only problem was that he needed long runs to make that happen and the flurry of cautions at the end did him no favors. A 4th place finish is still a good day for him and his Chip Ganassi team, and he currently sits in Chase contention based on points.

For the second week in a row, Jimmie Johnson posted a terrible qualifying effort. For the second week in a row, Jimmie said, "No problem", and drove to a top-3 finish. He appears to be only one to truly have anything for Harvick and Busch, at the moment, but the Penske cars aren't far off.

Speaking of, Joey Logano is becoming habitual, leading laps early, fading in the middle of the race, and rallying at the end. That netted him a 5th this weekend for the defending race winner. And as for his teammate Brad Keselowski? He was set to pull off an impressive finish, running in third place with only seven of his eight cylinders operating, until the late cautions exposed his lack of horsepower.

What’s next: NASCAR is done with short track racing for quite awhile. Now, the series heads to the biggest track it has, Talladega. Get ready for fast speeds and big wrecks this Sunday. Shake and bake!