Kyle Busch's script getting sweeter by the win

When the 2015 season began, Kyle Busch didn’t have the most promising outlook. His injury in the season-opening XFINITY race at Daytona International Speedway was well-documented, and his return to the track was uncertain.
But those who prognosticate – like sports writers and broadcasters – can’t gauge what’s inside a racer’s heart. And Kyle Busch’s heart is beating loud and proud these days.
For the third time in four weeks, the younger of the Busch brothers reached Victory Lane, taking the checkered flag Sunday afternoon in the 5-Hour Energy 301 on a hot, humid day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The stretch is impressive in itself, but the big picture of Busch’s 2015 season blows it up to a dramatic script the best directors of Hollywood couldn’t dream up if they tried.
After working for three months to heal from injuries to his right leg and left foot at Daytona, Busch returned in time to run the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the space of just eight race weekends, Busch has blown everyone away.
Before his return, NASCAR granted Busch a waiver for the Chase, but it came with two logical and very fair conditions. He had to be in the top 30 in points and win a race.
It took Busch all of five races to meet the first requirement when he won at Sonoma Raceway on June 28. Little did we know how much that performance would start a snowball of momentum.
Following a 17th-place showing in his return to Daytona, Busch has continued a meteoric rise up the charts on a clear mission to make it into the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup.
There are still seven races to go before the cutoff happens Sept. 12, but the last piece of the puzzle is clearly in sight. Busch is 33rd in points, 58 behind David Gilliand, who sits in 30th. The mission is still difficult, but clearly not impossible.
Over the course of the next seven weeks, Busch will be racing for the second time at Pocono (Aug. 2) and Michigan (Aug. 16). He was ninth at Pocono on June 7, but finished 43rd the following weekend.
Needless to say, Busch can’t afford a repeat of his first Michigan trip if he wants to make the Chase. With the run he’s on right now, that bad performance is a non-existent memory and those who would slow him down may need to get out of his way.
Between all the speculation, prognostication and stat keeping, it’s still not a stone-cold lock that Busch will be in the 10-race Chase. Considering what he’s endured and what it took to get back to this point, there’s a driven focus in Busch that’s undeniable and pretty amazing.
Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch has won 32 Sprint Cup races in 12 years, but hasn’t been higher than fourth in points. Any thoughts of joining big brother Kurt Busch (2004) as a champion are nowhere in focus at this point, but if Kyle can get in the Chase, the potential for a truly special achievement is waiting on the horizon.
We, as fans and reporter types, should embrace and appreciate it.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile superspeedway), Speedway, Indiana

SPRINT CUP: Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Network. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90

Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.

2014 champion: Jeff Gordon

XFINITY SERIES: Lilly Diabetes 250, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, NBC. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90.

Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps.

2014 champion: Ty Dillon

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: 1-800CarCash MudSummer Classic, Eldora Speedway (.500-mile dirt oval), Rossburg, Ohio, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 150 laps, 75 miles.

2014 champion: Darrell Wallace Jr.