Denny Hamlin: Kyle Busch winning a race this season 'is not a legit possibility right now'
After posting a DNF in Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, Kyle Busch now sees himself 98 points back of Chris Buescher for the 16th and final playoff spot.
With just five regular season races remaining, the reality is that Busch will need to find his way to Victory Lane to have a shot at being a part of the 2024 Cup Series postseason. Busch is currently riding a career-long 42-race winless streak, and Denny Hamlin doesn’t see that streak ending anytime soon. Hamlin said on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast that Busch winning a race just isn’t a “legit possibility right now.”
“What have you seen that makes you think he’s gonna win a race?” Hamlin said. “Can he win a race? 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. I’m not putting this on Kyle, trust me I’ve been teammates with him, the guy is elite. He’s great. But you gotta show that you can at least consistently run in the top-five to even have a chance to win, and we haven’t seen that lately.
“The speed hasn’t been there. Now can he win a race? Yes, Joey Logano won a race from 17th at Nashville. So, it is possible but you’re gonna need some crazy sh*t to happen. The odds are very, very low that you’re gonna win a race running 17th all day. You’re gonna need fuel mileage to be a factor, you’re just gonna need chaos at the end and trust me, NASCAR racing nowadays that’s half of what it is. There’s always a chance. But realistically as a Kyle Busch fan that I am, it’s just not a legit possibility right now from what I’ve seen. I just don’t see them showing up one weekend and then all of a sudden being the fastest car on the racetrack.”
Kyle Busch’s disastrous season continues at Pocono
Pocono was an all-around disastrous weekend for Busch from the moment he got to the racetrack. First, it was steering issues during Saturday’s practice session. Then came moments before the race began, when his car started leaking oil on pit road. His team had to repair the issue in the garage, and he started the race from the rear of the field.
Busch once again struggled to find speed before his day came to a premature end on the Lap 120 restart. Corey LaJoie hooked Busch heading into Turn 1. Busch blocked LaJoie from the bottom, who then retaliated. Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet shot up the racetrack and took out multiple cars.
Busch has finished with a DNF in five of his last seven starts, making this the worst stretch of his Hall of Fame career. He issued a measured response to NBC Sports after his release from the infield care center.
“Nah, I just want to thank all of our partners and everybody that’s been behind our program at RCR, ECR Engines, obviously Zone nicotine pouches and Cheddar’s, Lucas Oil, everybody for their support and continuing to back us and be behind us, and of course the fans and Rowdy Nation as well, too,” Busch said.
Asked if he felt any conversation needed to happen between he and LaJoie, Busch said, “nah.”