Getting your player ready...
The regular-season points champion dropped to eighth after last weekend’s first playoff race, and most NASCAR fans couldn’t be happier. Busch, who captured the pole at New Hampshire but struggled to a 34th-place result — second-worst among the 12 Chase drivers — isn’t liked, perhaps unfairly because older brother Kurt had a similar relationship with fans en route to his 2004 Cup title. Like him or not, Kyle, 23, has a series-most eight wins and 15 top-five finishes and has the potential to make up ground quickly. No doubt he will be reminded of Jimmie Johnson in 2006. Johnson entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, finished 39th at New Hampshire and still won the title.
