Kyle Busch can probably be excused if he isn't very happy to be back at Pocono Raceway this weekend.
The 23-year-old driver, whose magical 2008 season has included a NASCAR record 15 wins spread across three series, finished last in the 43-car Sprint Cup field at the June race at Pocono, his worst finish of the season on any circuit.
It was just a bad weekend for Busch, who wrecked his primary car in Saturday's practice session, started at the rear of the field when he had to switch to his backup Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was running deep in traffic when he ran into Jamie McMurray as they battled for the same spot of track.
It was one of only two times Busch finished worse than 25th in a Cup race, and the only Cup race he failed to finish this season.
Still, Busch said he was ready to face Pocono's 1.5-mile oval again in Sunday's Pennsylvania 500.
"We had a horrible race the last time we were there. ... Can't get much worse than 43rd, I guess," he said. "But I feel like we had a fairly decent car before our wreck.
"We were coming through the field and making up some ground. We might be able to work off that to be competitive there again this time around. So, for that reason, I am looking forward to getting back and putting that last Pocono race behind us."
Busch heads into the weekend with a 253-point lead over Cup runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr., and wants to up his momentum with just six races remaining until the start of the 10-race Chase for the championship.
Last Sunday's race at Indianapolis was a well-documented tire debacle, with no green-flag run longer than 12 laps. Busch led twice for 14 laps at Indy, but had a pretty quiet day otherwise, finishing 15th.
"It wasn't a fun race, that's for sure," Busch said. "It was a long day. But, at this point, all that matters to us are wins and trophies."
With each Cup victory adding a 10-point bonus for the start of the Chase, Busch has six wins in NASCAR's elite series and 60 bonus points built up already.
"With the position we're in, that's what we're focused on," he added. "Just earning as many of those bonus points as we can by the time we get to New Hampshire (for the start of the Chase). Obviously, we're not looking to go out there and be reckless and do something stupid.
"(But) there's something to be said for carrying some momentum into the Chase. That's what Jimmie (Johnson) and those (No.) 48 guys were able to do last year. We've had some bumps in the road this season, but this M&M team has been pretty resilient. We've just got to rebound and make sure that 48 team doesn't pick up too much steam."
