Kurt Busch 2016 Review
By Richard Tix
Season Grade: C+
Season Preview: "Last year I was down on Kurt's outlook. A poor 2014 and the suspension didn't give me much hope in how 2015 would turn out. Well, maybe the off the track issues were holding him down in 2014. He now has a clear head going into 2016. I expect Kurt to once again get a win or two, 8-9 top 5's, and 17-19 top 10's. All of them are down a bit from his numbers in 2015, but I think he will have just as good, if not better, at a shot at a title in 2016."
Season Preview: Technically all his numbers were a bit down from 2015 (one less win, one less top 5, but the same amount of top 10's) but that's not why I only gave him a C+ grade for the season. Sure, the numbers have a bit to do with every grade, because performance is key in a season's success outlook, but it isn't everything.
Obviously it can't be everything because the new format gives each driver and team a new outlook on how to attack the season which leads to mixed results.
All of that being said, I have used this space before to note my feelings on Kurt's season and how it consistently felt disappointing. I think much of that had to do with the second half of the season going downhill after a pretty consistent start. In the last 20 races of the season (more then half of the season) Kurt had seven top 10's, just seven. Kurt had 21 top 10's on the season, so only notching seven in his final 20 races is a bit crazy to think about.
Normally you want that type of streak to be flip flopped and to be going into the new season on a high note, but this season will finish out on a downward spiral.
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