NASCAR Insider – Make or Break for Kyle Busch in the Pep Boys 500

Kyle Busch is coming off of a victory at Bristol two weeks ago and will be driving on a track, the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he has had great success. The off-season favorite to win the Sprint Cup Championship is going to need to use every bit of that experience at Atlanta to win this Sunday because time is running out for him.

Simply put, Busch needs to be exceptional these next two weeks in order to get back into the Chase. It’s a shame considering that he’s won 4 races in 2009 and could have won two more if not for luck and bad decision making on the track. Kyle has nobody to blame but himself for his tenuous position, he’s 13 th in the Sprint Cup Standings, but could make amends this Sunday at Atlanta. Will he do it? My gut tells me that he will. Joe Gibbs is an excellent judge of talent. That’s how the man won Super Bowls as the head guy of he Washington Redskins and Busch has more talent than possibly anybody else on the NASCAR circuit, but he’ll need luck, like every driver with NASCAR does every week because the competition is stiff.

If Busch does get it together and pulls out another victory, then the man on the outside looking in could be this year’s Daytona 500 winner, Matt Kenseth. Kenseth is 12 th in the Sprint Cup Standings and hasn’t really done all that much since winning the first two big races of 2009. Kenseth just hasn’t been able to be consistent in 2009.

Unlike Kenseth, Mark Martin, currently 10 th in the standings, decided to ease up some at Bristol two weeks ago and ended up 2 nd to Kyle Busch. It was a brilliant decision as it allowed Martin to climb to 10 th in the Sprint Cup Standings. I believe that it’s a sign that Martin will just maintain from here until the Chase begins.

As for who could win on Sunday, bettors need look no further than Hendrick Motor Sports where both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson figure to put in good runs. Jimmie has won three times at Atlanta. Jeff has won four times at Atlanta. Both guys will want to get their cars together for the Chase and could use this race to do that.

The Sprint Cup points leader, Tony Stewart, finished a disappointing 33 rd at Bristol two weeks ago. He too will want to make amends. Smoke has the added incentive of proving to Danica Patrick, who visited Stewart/Haas this past week for a possible switch to NASCAR next year that his team is the team to drive for. That would make for a fantastic squad if Danica joins Smoke and Ryan Newman on Team Stewart/Haas.

Then there’s my favorite long shot, Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya has been driving with much more control this year and no doubt is on the cusp of becoming one of the top ten guys on the NASCAR circuit. A victory in a traditional NASCAR race would really help the sport, I believe, as Montoya has tons of racing fans. Plus, I could stop writing about the guy each and every week.

Sunday is almost here! Get your wagers down in the BetOnline online sportsbook, grab a cold one, and start your engines!