Another week and another dismal result for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team. The two-time Cup Series champion rolled his car home to the checkered flag in 25th place in Indianapolis on Sunday despite being frustratingly close to a top-5 finish minutes earlier. The hurdle that popped up this time was a contact with former teammate Denny Hamlin with three laps to go.
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Busch came into Turn 3 really low and made contact with Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry, being unable to turn. His Camaro spun as a result and crashed against the outside wall. The wreck forced the race into overtime and changed the dynamics of the field greatly. He took it to X to apologize to his crew for foiling the great work that they’d done on the car and in the pit stops.
Kyle Busch CRASHES to force the #Brickyard400 into OVERTIME.
: NBC pic.twitter.com/E9Zr4nxSQe
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 21, 2024
He wrote, “Got right where we wanted to b w a good car and some really good pit calls. I’m really sorry to all my guys and RCR for crashing while trying to b aggressive and get them a top 5 finish. Ready for this two wk break. Really need it.” Busch more than just “needs” this break. He has been on the driest run of his career in his second year with Richard Childress Racing.
His chances to enter the playoffs are now more bleak than ever as he rides a 43-race winless streak. Unpleasantly noticeable is the fact that six of his last eight races have resulted in DNFs. He needs to get it together sooner to have a shot at winning one of the upcoming four regular season races and securing a seat for the playoffs. However, not many believe he can. Amongst them is Hamlin.
Hamlin doesn’t see Busch winning a race this season
Following the situation with Busch, Hamlin continued his race but not for long. A collision in the following restart left his car severely damaged and ended his day. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had been highly supportive of Busch when discussing his bad string of races on Actions Detrimental last week. However, he did not have the confidence that Rowdy could win a race with the No. 8 car.
“Can he win a race?” he said. “Yes, absolutely. But not, like, legitimately. He’s not gonna win one legitimately and that’s just a fact and I apologize to the Kyle Busch fans listening, but we have to be honest with ourselves.”
Hamlin’s words are reality despite their bitterness. Busch needs to regroup himself over the upcoming two weeks and hope for a turnaround when NASCAR returns to racing in Richmond next month. Until then, his apology will have to do.
