The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry is within reach of a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. Kyle Busch will enter the 2022 season with the opportunity to pass Jimmie Johnson on the all-time laps-led leaderboard.
The two-time Cup Series champion has led 18,281 laps during his career that began with a part-time schedule in 2004. He is currently 10th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series history while Johnson is ninth with 18,941 laps led during a career that also featured 83 trips to Victory Lane.
In order to tie Johnson, Busch will simply need to lead 660 laps. 661 will result in him taking sole possession of ninth place and putting himself within reach of Rusty Wallace (19,951 laps led). This mark is within reach considering that Busch has led at least 1,000 laps 10 times in his career. He led another 736 during his championship season in 2015.
Busch Can Reach Another Cup Series Milestone in 2022
GettyKyle Busch can tie Richard Petty in 2022.
Passing Johnson on the laps-led leaderboard is not the only milestone that Busch can reach during the 2022 Cup Series season. He can also tie The King by winning at least one race.
If Busch reaches Victory Lane one time during the 2022 season, he will secure his 18th consecutive season with a win. This would put him into a tie with Richard Petty for the top spot on the all-time list. Busch is currently in a tie with David Pearson (17 consecutive seasons) after his wins at Kansas Speedway and Pocono Raceway.
Busch’s streak nearly came to an end during the 2020 season. He went winless in the first 33 races but still managed to make the playoffs on points. Busch secured a win at Texas Motor Speedway to keep his streak alive for the 16th season and then he reached 17 seasons with a win on May 2, 2021.
“It’s cool. It gives me chills,” Busch said during his post-race media availability. “I don’t know if I got the chill from the air conditioning or actually hearing that. It’s meaningful. It’s a huge accomplishment. I feel like any accomplishment that is out there that’s able to be achieved is something to be honored with.
“Being able to do it 17 years now and, hopefully, being able to go on to 18, 19, 20 years, whatever it is,” Busch continued. “There’s not many things that you’ll be able to beat The King at, that’s for darn sure. Hopefully, we can continue that tradition and make sure that we get to 18, get to 19, and so on.”
Busch’s Teammate Can Pass a Hall of Famer
Busch is not the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver that can make some significant moves during the 2022 season. Denny Hamlin can also leap into the top-15 on the laps-leaderboard by simply passing Tony Stewart.
Smoke ended his Cup Series career with 12,815 laps-led and three championships. He is in 15th place on the leaderboard while Hamlin is just behind him with 12,730 laps led. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry can achieve this goal by leading a mere 85 laps during the 2022 season.
The last time that Hamlin led fewer than 360 laps was the 2005 season. He only made seven starts while leading a total of 25 laps. He led 1,083 in 2020 and 1,502 in 2021 en route to a spot in the championship four.
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Kyle Busch Within Reach of Jimmie Johnson in Key Category