Kyle Busch was making a midrace charge to the front before trouble found him on Lap 164. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – More times than not, Kyle Busch is a perennial contender at virtually any NASCAR Cup Series track.
In fact, Kyle Busch’s average finish (15.53) ranked inside the top 10 among active drivers who have competed in at least two Kansas Speedway races.
Despite starting 16th, Busch seemed like a respectable contender during Sunday’s AdventHealth 400. The two-time Cup champion placed 11th in Stage 1, missing out on the final stage points position when Kyle Larson passed him inside the final 10 laps.
Still, Busch’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, prepared by Richard Childress Racing, had top five to top 10 speed. Namely, crew chief, Randall Burnett, worked ardently with improving the handling of the car which showed in the latter portion of Stage 2.
Namely, Busch had a slow pit stop due to a hose that got stuck. As he would start toward the rear of the field, the crafty driver sped on pit road and was tagged with a pit road speeding penalty.
While Busch was forced to restart toward the rear of the field, he worked his way back inside the top 15, drawing closer to the top 10 toward the end of Stage 2. Inside the final 10 laps of Stage 2, Christopher Bell hit the backstretch wall, prompting a caution that resulted in mixed pit strategies.
The two-time Kansas winner was the sixth driver off pit road but restarted in 15th with the top 10 drivers electing to stay out for stage points and track position. Working his way through the snarl of cars, Busch attempted to get to the inside of Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 car.
Toward the exit of Turn 2, Busch spun before hitting the backstretch wall with a square shot on the right side.
Busch overcame a series of tough events to work his way back inside the top 15 in Stage 2 before trouble found him on Lap 163. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
A day of perseverance and resilience was cut short on Lap 163, relegating the 62-time Cup race winner to a 35th place finish, his second sub top-20 finish in as many weeks.
“Our guys on the Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen team made great pit stops after a tough start to the race,” Busch said. “Crew chief Randall Burnett and the guys kept making adjustments and got our car better after a couple of runs. I just tried to get below the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) car off of Turn 2. I wasn’t quite clear, got clipped and spun out.”
Much like Larson’s two-race skid at Talladega and Dover, Busch lamented over the recent misfortunes and adversities surrounding his No. 8 team. In this case, the lack of stage points and subpar finishes have dropped the championship contender from fifth to 12th in the points standings.
“I feel bad for my guys,” he said. “We’ve been fighting hard all day long and fought from the back pretty much every run of the race to get ourselves in a position. We got up there, finally, and then all of the cautions kept flying to throw off strategy.”
By the same token, Busch tried his best to bide his time while working his way up the leaderboard on the Lap 163 restart. Sometimes, in spite of good intentions, a logical mindset still places a driver like Busch in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“A lot of guys were up there on older tires,” Busch said. “You’re trying to get by them to make the most of your stage and then stuff like this happens. We weren’t able to get stage points and then ruined our race when we got clipped. It’s just bad luck.”
