(Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kyle Busch overcame a practice crash earlier in the weekend to take home a seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway, keeping himself well above the playoff cutline in the Round of 16.
Busch blew a tire and hit the wall in Saturday’s lone practice session, resulting in his Richard Childress Racing team having to go to a backup car and failing to post a qualifying time. The two-time Cup Series champion started from the rear of the field, and through attrition, got back into the mix after finishing 13th in Stage 2.
Busch got up to seventh with seven laps to go when Chris Buescher blew a tire and got into the wall, causing a caution. Crew chief Randall Burnett gambled, calling the 38-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada down pit road for just two tires. He came out second behind Erik Jones and restarted third after Daniel Suarez stayed out.
In the end, old tires prevailed. Tyler Reddick, who drove the No. 8 car last year, came from the third row on four fresh tires to win the race for 23XI Racing. Denny Hamlin also took four and finished second. Busch dropped back down to seventh, but under the circumstances, Busch was content with the result.
“It wasn’t going to be a play to win the race, but it was going to be a play for our best finish,” Busch explained after the race. “We just got a couple of bad aero spots there with the last restart and probably lost one more spot than I should have, but all-in-all, that was better than we should have performed anyways. We fought hard with our No. 8 Casey’s Camaro and that’s all we had.
“It’s unfortunate for us that we were in that spot right on the line of take two tires or take four tires at the end. Obviously, if you take two, you can get further up but you know you’re going to lose a few spots to the guys that take four. We made the right call and we got the most out of our car that we could.”
Busch on pit road moments after climbing out of his car at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
Busch is seventh in points and 24 to the good ahead of the first elimination race on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Historically, Busch has thrived at Bristol, winning eight times in 33 starts. But that might not necessarily translate on Saturday.
The No. 8 team has struggled to get ahold of the short track package in 2023, notably finishing 21st at Martinsville Speedway in the spring and crashing out early at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. However, at Richmond Raceway, the last short track race, Busch qualified second and finished third.
In last year’s Bristol race with Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch had a car capable of winning before he blew up for the second time in three races, ending his chances of advancing in the playoffs.
Admittedly, Busch doesn’t feel great ahead of Saturday’s primetime race. But his cushion from winning three regular-season races helps.
“With the way everything is going right now, no,” Busch said when asked about his confidence. “But we’ll work as hard as we can and get what we can get.
“It was good to be able to fight up to the front [at Kansas]. Good run. Solid finish. We’re still alive next week.”
