HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2011) – At the outset of the 1992 presidential election, William Jefferson Clinton, with just 3 percent of the vote, finished fourth in the Iowa Democratic Caucus. He was beaten handily by longtime Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who not surprisingly won 76 percent of the vote, while 12 percent voted “uncommitted,” and 4 percent chose Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas.
It appeared as though his campaign was in trouble, but Clinton rallied in the New Hampshire Primary one week later as he finished a solid second behind Tsongas despite trailing by a large margin in most polls leading up to Election Day.
In his speech in New Hampshire that night, Clinton called himself the “Comeback Kid” and, from there, he rolled to primary victories on Super Tuesday in March, won the nomination, and went onto become the first Democrat elected to two terms in The White House since Franklin Roosevelt.
What does this have to do with Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)?
Like Clinton in 1992, Busch is in the middle of a campaign. But the Las Vegas native is simply looking for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. And, like Clinton, his “campaign” was badly damaged in the Midwest, although Busch’s problems came in Monday’s rain-postponed Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
Despite running in the top-15 for much of Monday’s race run, an untimely encounter with debris late in the race, coupled with his car running out of gas two laps shy of the finish, relegated Busch to a disappointing 22nd-place result. He arrived at Chicagoland seeded first in the rankings but fell to ninth in the point standings with Monday’s result, 19 markers behind new leader Harvick.
So, like Clinton, Busch is looking for redemption in New Hampshire and, more specifically, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, site of Sunday’s Sylvania 300 Sprint Cup Series race. Busch doesn’t have to win, although it certainly wouldn’t hurt, but he certainly needs a strong showing to get his championship chase back on track.
He has had plenty of success at the “Magic Mile” throughout his career, having scored a Sprint Cup Series win in July 2006 to go along with six top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He’s also scored three wins, one pole and four top-five results in six NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Loudon to go along with two wins, one pole and five top-10 finishes in six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races at the 1.058-mile oval.
Clinton’s theme song in his ride to the White House in 1992 was Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” from which a portion of the chorus may help Busch and the M&M’s team as they try to put Chicagoland behind them – “Yesterday’s Gone, Yesterday’s Gone.”