Kurt Busch wins Quicken Loans 400: 3 things learned

The Quicken Loans 400 came to a halt as four rain delays eventually ended the race at Michigan, with Kurt Busch getting the win.

Michigan tends to be one of the most exciting races of the season, but today it was anything but that. Four rain delays and multiple cautions prevented any chance of the racing having an exciting feel to it.

At the end of the day, it was Kurt Busch who was out in front as the race was called and he picked up his second victory of the season. While he probably would have rather won it by running every lap, at this stage of the season, you have to take what you can get when weather takes over.

For other drivers, it was nothing but a day of bad luck on the track. Kyle Larson was leading a good portion of the race and he had to pit before he ran out of fuel. Unfortunately for Larson, that stop came right before the rain delay, which would have given him the biggest moment thus far of his career.

With Kurt Busch picking up his second win this season –and looking like the strongest driver out on the track at the moment– here are three things learned at Michigan.

1. Playoff hopes might be over for Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch returned this season from a serious injury with a chance to compete for a Sprint Cup Championship. To qualify for “The Chase,” Busch had to do two things this season: win a race and average a top-16 finish in all his races. After Sunday, his season could be over really before it even began.

After the first rain delay, Busch got loose and slammed directly into the barrier. In what was a scary wreck; it took him right off the track and straight to the garage.

Problems for @KyleBusch! Gets loose and snaps right ... into the wall. Heavy damage for the No. 18 car. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/eRbJAyvUFw
— FS1 (@FS1) June 14, 2015

A few weeks ago at Dover, Busch was involved in a wreck with Brian Scott on the track. After that, Busch had no margin for error and had to run great races the rest of the way on out.

At this point he’s going to need several first place finishes if he’s going to have a chance. This has been a nightmare season for Kyle Busch.

2. Even Kevin Harvick makes mistakes

Kevin Harvick was arguably the best driver in practice and qualifying this week. He was the fastest car in multiple instances on the track. During the portions of the race that did take place, Harvick also looked like the fastest driver on the track.

However, a mix-up and confusion with weather playing a part, led to Harvick finishing 29th after he was at the front all day. He fell back to 35th and was quickly working his way back to the front, where it looked like he was going to have a shot to redeem himself.

Unfortunately, the rain came and Kevin Harvick had a poor run at Michigan. The guy that was easily the best driver this season finally had a bad day at the office.

That’s probably bad news for everyone else in two weeks at Sonoma.

3. Is Kurt Busch the driver to take down Harvick, Johnson and Truex Jr?

All season long the question has been whether or not any driver could jump up and take down the trio of Harvick, Johnson and Truex Jr., who have dominated each and every single race this season. With those three running away with the points, people have been wondering who will rise up.

That driver might just be Kurt Busch.

Busch now has two wins on the season, and it seems like he hasn’t been too distanced from the trio each race of the season. With his wins, Busch is now tied with Harvick for second-most wins of the season, just behind Johnson. That alone makes him one of the most dangerous drivers on the track, as he is playing with house money now.

Everyone knows Kurt Busch is a great driver, but now he is making sure no one has forgotten about him in the conversation of the Sprint Cup Championship.

Next week NASCAR is off for Father’s Day, but they will be back in two weeks for some road racing at Sonoma, in what is usually one of the most entertaining races of the season.

More from FanSided

Home/NASCAR