NASCAR 2015 Episode 19 Recap: New Hampshire

NASCAR 2015 Episode 19 Recap: New Hampshire

What went down: Kyle Busch has opened up a big 'ol can of whoop-ass on the rest of NASCAR.

It doesn't matter the track, it doesn't matter what new rules NASCAR throws at the teams, Kyle Busch's team simply has the winning formula down pat, and it seems only a matter of a couple of weeks until Busch will be in the Chase and possibly one of the championship favorites.

For the second consecutive week, the two best cars on the track were those of Busch and Brad Keselowski. Keselowski actually ended up leading a few more laps than Busch and was dejected and pissed off after finishing the race in second, with what he believed was the winning car.

Perhaps Keselowski would have won had it not been for Busch's insane pass that ultimately won him the race. As the final pit stop approached, Busch believed he had a tire going down and decided to be the first car to pit. As a result of pitting earlier than the other drivers, Busch was a lap down, but was able to charge up and thread the needle between first and second place Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.

That move got Busch back on the lead lap just as the caution came out. Everyone else then pitted, leaving Busch out front, and on the final restart, he simply drove away from everyone else.

What it means for Busch: This is Busch's third win in the last four races, coming on all different types of tracks (road course, 1.5 mile, flat 1 mile). This win marked Busch's second career victory at New Hampshire and was his 32nd career win.

Busch now sits less than 60 points outside of the top-30 in points, the cutoff he must make after missing the first third of the season due to his broken leg/foot.

What it means for everyone else: Those sitting near the Chase cutoff line in points should be worried or at least aware that they are about to be bumped out after Busch wins the final seven races leading up to the Chase. Guys like Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, and Paul Menard are going to have to be running well over the next seven weeks if they want to "point" their way into the Chase.

Dale Jr. looked to have a great car this past weekend, finishing in the top-5 yet again at New Hampshire. But Jr. was none to happy about the finish, saying they need to be good enough to run up front all race long, much like Busch did. A hungry Jr. is going to be fun to watch come Chase time.

Finally, a shout-out to Landon Cassill and his Hillman Racing team. They qualified an impressive 13th and ran top-20 until the end of the race. Though they finished 30th, it was an impressively strong run for the small team.

What’s next: NASCAR takes on one of its crown jewel events this weekend when they run the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.