Can Kyle Busch Notch Up More Playoff Wins to Move Closer to Jimmie Johnson in All-Time List?

Published 09/02/2021, 11:33 AM EDT

Back in 2004, NASCAR introduced a new system to spice up the championship. This is how the Playoff system was born, and has been in operation since then. In terms of Playoff wins, Jimmie Johnson is the most successful driver, with an astonishing 29 wins. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch is all the way back with nine to his name.

In addition to that, he is tied with Carl Edwards and his own teammate, Martin Truex Jr. Ahead of him, within touching distance, is Joey Logano, who is tied with Denny Hamlin. If he can rack up two or three wins, he could rocket into 3rd in the all-time list. From there, the only ones ahead of him will be Johnson, and Kevin Harvick, who has 16 wins.

Since the #NASCARPlayoffs era began in 2004, no driver has more playoff wins than Jimmie Johnson." pic.twitter.com/HlVvFXzRop
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 31, 2021

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Of course, he will have to be wary about Brad Keselowski. This is because two wins from him could see the Penske driver jump ahead. Additionally, he will also be hoping that Truex Jr, Logano, Hamlin, and Harvick don’t succeed in increasing their tallies.

Kyle Busch will be focusing on the playoffs

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Of course, at the end of the day, these are just statistics. Kyle Busch is gunning for the real prize, and that is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title. This could potentially be his third Cup Series title, that is, if he can defeat the likes of Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and his own teammate, Denny Hamlin.

Larson is in the form of his life, and Blaney notched up two wins in a row. Meanwhile, a fired-up Hamlin will be eager to snatch his first win of the 2021 season. To be perfectly honest, this could not have come at a better time, because the urgency is even greater now.

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For now, Kyle Busch will want to focus on this weekend’s race at Darlington. NASCAR is currently in the midst of a 10-week streak of back-to-back races. Obviously, it will put a strain on a lot of teams, but it all depends on who emerges on top of it all. Can Busch take his third title, or will it be someone else?

VIDEO: When Tony Stewart Sent Kyle Busch Airborne in Mega Crash at the Daytona International Speedway

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.