LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch looked simultaneously relaxed in his hometown of Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon and ready to get after it. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin with Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and as the regular-season champion, Busch starts the 10-race championship push as the top-seed among the 16 Playoff drivers. On-track action begins Friday with opening Cup practice.
Busch’s only Cup victory at the Las Vegas track came in 2009, but he and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin have paced the season with four wins each. And Busch conceded that having the extra 15 points for winning the regular-season championship may turn into a huge benefit – if needed.
“It’s kind of an insurance policy,’’ Busch said Thursday during Playoff Media Day at the South Point Hotel and Casino. “We all pay for insurance to hopefully never have to use it, but it’s there just in case.
“For us, we’ve done a great job of being able to build those points up throughout the regular season and it’s nice to be able to have that point structure in place to kind of give you the opportunity to have your early season success help you through the postseason.
“I think it’s the most fair structure that we’ve had through the Playoff era. Looking forward to not having to use those points, but if need be, there’s some that are there.”
Having said that, Busch reiterated that having those 15 bonus points doesn’t fundamentally change his approach to the championship run.
“First and foremost, we try to figure out how we can win each and every week,” Busch said. “Then as the races go on, we then kind of figure out what the points look like and where the cutoff is for guys that are or are not going to make it.’’
Busch said he’s not overly concerned about this No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team even though the last of its four victories came 13 races ago at Pocono. Last week, he suffered the worst finish (37th) of the season after his car had engine problems at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway regular-season finale.
“It’s execution, it’s circumstantial,’’ Busch said. “There’s certain things that have kept us out (of victory lane). … It’s just a matter of track position these days and how things happen throughout the event.’’