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NASCAR Review: Kyle Busch’s Last Lap Misfortune Comes With Small Consolation Amid Winless Streak

Rahul Ahluwalia
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NASCAR Preview: Can Kyle Busch End 16-Year Losing Streak at Darlington?

Apr 27, 2024; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch looks at a computer on pit road during practice and qualifying for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Busch was certainly not the happiest driver to leave Sonoma Raceway last Sunday. However, the Richard Childress Racing driver does have a silver lining to look at after what was a tough outing for the two-time champion.

The 2024 Cup Series race in wine country saw Busch on course for a top 5 finish during a season that has seen the #8 Chevy driver struggle for results. Unfortunately, he could not manage to hold on to the same as Ross Chastain made contact with the RCR driver on the final lap, relegating him to a P12 finish.

Despite not being able to haul in as many points as he deserved during the end of the 110-lap-long event, Busch’s P12 finish comes with one positive as he inches closer to a postseason playoffs spot.

Before the Sonoma Raceway weekend, Kyle Busch sat 20 points behind Bubba Wallace who holds the final playoff spot. Post Sunday’s event, Busch has closed that gap to 8 points.

The Las Vegas native also spoke about how he thought he raced during the event and touched on the final lap incident and said, “A couple of guys there at the end of the race had better tires than we did, but we were going to have a good day. Unfortunately, one of those guys got into us on the last lap and ruined our day. It’s frustrating to not get the finish that we deserved.”

How has Kyle Busch performed during 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season so far?

NASCAR’s visit to Sonoma Raceway marked the RCR driver’s longest winless streak during his long, storied career. The two-time Cup Series champion has not managed to visit victory lane for 37 consecutive races.

Busch’s last winless streak which lasted 36 races long ended all the way back in 2017, back when he used to drive for Coach Gibbs’ racing outfit. The #8 Chevy driver has also managed to win a race in all of his 19 seasons in the sport so far, with this year threatening to break that record as well.

It remains to be seen whether Kyle Busch can log another win during his 20th consecutive season in the sport this year as NASCAR heads to Iowa Speedway next weekend.

About the author

Rahul Ahluwalia

Rahul Ahluwalia

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Rahul Ahluwalia is a NASCAR Content Strategist and Journalist at The SportsRush. Hailing from a Journalism and Mass Communication background, Rahul's love for automobiles transformed into his passion for all things racing. With over 1200+ articles under his belt covering a mixture of NASCAR and F1, he has realized his calling in the world of motorsports with actual first hand experience behind the wheel to back it up. He has competed in several autocross events as well as rallycross-style competitions to hone his skills behind the wheel and better understand the mindset of a racecar driver, allowing him to further improve his writing as well. He also has an editorial background with respect to racing and has eye for stories which otherwise go unnoticed. Rahul is also an avid sim racer indulging in various disciplines such as rallying and oval racing during his free time. Having begun his motorsports journey at the start of 2020, he turned his passion into his work allowing him to delve deeper into the ever evolving and world of cars and motorsports. Apart from racing, Rahul also has sound technical knowledge of the automotive industry and automobiles in general. Having grown up playing video games such as Need for Speed, Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, it is easy to see where the love for racing and machines inculcated in the first place.

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