LOUDON, N.H. - Stuck in a hospital, Kyle Busch could only think about a comeback, not a championship.
Could the NASCAR driver imagine, days after a horrific crash, that he would become a Sprint Cup title contender this season?
"Yeah, right," he said. "You're crazy."
Nothing seems preposterous these days for Busch, whose dormant-to-dominant run over the past two months has not only made him a regular in victory lane, it has steamrolled him toward the cusp of a berth in the postseason Chase.
Busch rolled on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, winning for the second straight weekend and the third time in four races.
"This is something I'm not sure we ever would have expected," Busch said.
However, Busch isn't where he needs to be in the standings quite yet. His three wins are certainly enough to earn a Chase for the Sprint Cup championship berth, but because he missed time on the track while recovering, he's still outside the top 30 in points. That's the second major qualifier he must meet to race for the title in the final 10 races of the year.
Busch won at Sonoma Raceway and last week at Kentucky Speedway and is 33rd in the standings, 58 points behind David Gilliland for 30th. Cole Whitt is 31st and Brett Moffitt 32nd, easy pickings for Busch.
"I'm not sure we've unleashed the beast at all," Busch said.
Busch broke his right leg and left foot in a crash the day before the season-opening Daytona 500. He missed the first 11 races of the season, then returned in late May determined to earn a playoff spot.
Busch, who last won at New Hampshire in July 2006, said Friday he still is bothered by the leg injuries. The aches hardly seemed to matter Sunday in the No. 18 Toyota.
"We've got to keep doing our deal," Busch said. "Every week it keeps getting better and better."
Busch has gained 70 points on the 30th spot over the past two races. He is not only a threat to qualify for the Chase but to win it all for Joe Gibbs Racing should he crack the 16-driver field. Busch's best season finish in Cup racing came in 2013, when he was fourth.
"Ever since that injury, he's been on it," Gibbs said. "I don't know what (the deficit is) now, but it's sure helping."
With Busch in the field or not, JGR has three other contenders in Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Kenseth finished sixth, Edwards started from the pole and was seventh, and Hamlin took 14th. JGR took four of the top five spots at Kentucky. Busch won and Hamlin-Edwards-Kenseth went 3-4-5.
"I think we're certainly back, closer," Gibbs said. "I don't know that we've turned the corner."
Busch has seven races left to crack the top 30 before the Chase opens Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway. On Sunday, he had one of his best performances in his comeback, rallying from a lap down to win. Busch, who led 95 laps, stayed out during a late pit stop to take the lead from contenders Brad Keselowski and Kenseth.
Keselowski was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Keselowski led a race-high 101 laps and his No. 2 Ford appeared to be the car to beat, leaving him clearly irked at losing the lead with 48 laps left. How tough would it be to beat Busch in the Chase?
"He's good," Keselowski grumbled, "but we're a good team, and I feel like we can beat him."
Crew chief Adam Stevens, in his first season calling the shots in Cup racing for JGR, made all the right choices to keep Busch in contention for the win and a crack at the top 30.
"I don't have any fears," Stevens said, "of being able to close that gap."