MADISON, Ill. – At one point, it appeared Kyle Busch was bound for another strong run at World Wide Technology Raceway. He led 15 laps, and while the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion admitted he didn’t have a race-winning car like last year, he had a piece capable of scoring a needed top-10 finish.
Instead, Busch ended up on the hook.
On the final lap of Stage Two, Busch and Kyle Larson made contact coming down the frontstretch and into turn one, resulting in both drivers sliding into the fence. Busch took the brunt of it – suffering terminal damage while Larson continued to finish in the top 10.
While Busch acknowledged the contact wasn’t intentional, he understandably wasn’t happy, either.
“It looked like [Larson] got loose down the front straightaway into turn one. He was on older tires and trying to get us for a spot,” Busch said from the infield care center. “I’m not sure what that single point would mean for him, but it certainly hurt us a lot. It took that point away, as well as the others that we would get for the stage and then also the rest of the day.
“It’s very frustrating. We can’t afford days like that. The No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Camaro wasn’t what it was last year, but it was a top-10 car and we were going to finish there. Now we’re not going to finish at all.”
Busch didn’t have the early pace but got the lead early in Stage Two as he elected to stay out at the lap 45 break. Christopher Bell, the dominant car on the afternoon, took the lead on lap 70 and Busch never got it back, but he remained in the mix despite a different strategy.
The Las Vegas native came for service on lap nine, beginning the pit cycle.
On lap 113, Josh Berry blew a tire and brought out a caution, which served well for Busch. Just three drivers — Bell, Chase Elliott and Larson — stayed out while Busch raced off pit road first on two fresh Goodyears.
Busch competed with Larson and the other leaders despite being on a tire deficit.
“We were kind of holding our own,” Busch said. “I know Larson was on older tires and caught me from a couple car lengths back after I got by him. So I would say once we could equal back out on tires, I would say we would probably be top 10.”
A top-10 finish would’ve been needed for Busch, who before Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, hadn’t finished worse than second in two starts at Gateway. Entering the 160-lapper, Busch was 14th in points with finishes of 27th at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and 15th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the last two points races.
With a new winner Sunday in Austin Cindric, Busch’s points deficit only increases with 11 races remaining in the regular season.