Sunday’s NASCAR race at the World Wide Technology Raceway saw Kyle Busch exit the track earlier than his counterparts. He made contact with Kyle Larson in the final lap of stage 2 and suffered irreparable damage to his #8 Chevrolet Camaro because of it. Coming off the oval, both drivers had different versions of the sequence of events that led to the misfortune.
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Busch maintained that the Hendrick star had gotten loose towards Turn 1 and was trying to pick him for a spot using the older tires that he was on. He continued, “Not sure what that single point was really gonna mean for him, but certainly hurt us a lot because (it) took that point away as well as the others that we’d get for the stage and then also the rest of the day. So very frustrating.”
Footage of the incident shows Larson racing to the inside of Busch when he snap towards him. The jerk led Busch into the SAFER barrier in Turn 2. The rowdy exited the grounds with his fourth finish outside the top 15 in the last six races. The result was also his first DNF this season. Larson, on the other hand, was able to continue his race despite the contact and finish in tenth place.
Kyle Larson explains his point-of-view of the incident with Busch
Defending himself in the pit road after the race, Larson told reporters, “Left (Turn) 4 to side-draft him and barely touched his quarter panel. I don’t know. I’m guessing it ticked him off, and he squeezed into me. I honestly thought I had a flat (tire) when I went into 1 because it just turned around backwards, but I guess he just must’ve taken the air off of me and just spun.”
Kyle Larson gives his view of the contact with Kyle Busch at the end of the second stage. pic.twitter.com/Xcjf6etnzd
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 2, 2024
Responding to Busch’s comments about the purpose of racing hard for a single point, he reiterated that every single point did matter to everyone on the field. He, however, did not take any dig or veiled shot toward Busch. The duo could’ve hopefully finished inside the top 10 if it weren’t for the incident. As things turned out, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric won the race.
Cindric’s victory has made Busch’s chances of gaining entry to the playoffs trickier. With 11 races remaining in the regular season, it is high time the two-time champion figures out a way to secure his spot for the postseason, which at this point, looks possible only through a win.
