Kyle Busch leaves Roval with 'bittersweet' feeling after being eliminated from playoffs
For Kyle Busch a P3 finish was not good enough to make it to the NASCAR Playoffs Round of 8 after the Roval. Busch was one of four drivers eliminated, including Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Brad Keselowski.
While it looked like Kyle Busch was going to catch the leaders and make a move, it didn’t happen. Busch had a moment with about 3 laps to go, but he didn’t close that gap enough. Besides, Rowdy likes to get Rowdy, but only when it is necessary.
The veteran who is always talking about respect while racing kept his word. Still, it cant be fun to finish third and still miss out on the transfer.
“Nah I mean, I was trying to do what the car gave me, I was overstepping that a couple of more times again, but I didn’t crash which is good,” Busch told Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “But if i was doing desperation stuff I would have piledrove everybody into Turn 1 on one of them restarts, you know, and open the door up for us.”
In the end, Kyle Busch just didn’t perform well at Texas and Talladega. It hurt him and ultimately ended his season.
“It’s bittersweet, I hate it. I mean, it rides on me. We came out here, we executed, we did the job we knew that we were capable of doing here, getting a third. Had a shot to win, but the Lenovo Camaro was fast the guys gave me a great piece. Unfortunately, Texas and Talladega and not doing a damn good job there and not scoring any points obviously killed us. So, give me those two to do over again and we’re in the Round of 8.”
First year with RCR, three wins and a Round of 12 appearance? Take the momentum and look ahead to 2024.
Kyle Busch’s Rowdy Revenge Tour ends early
You know, there were many times this season where it felt like Rowdy had it all. He came out and won at Auto Club Speedway in the second race of the year. Then, he was able to steal a Talladega victory. Superspeedway wins are far and few between for Busch.
His dominating day at Gateway showed that he still had speed and was still the same Kyle Busch we all know and love. Then, things just fell off. For one reason or another, the speed went away, the finishes stopped coming in so high, and struggle was the name of the game.
I’m sure the RCR team and Kyle Busch wanted to go further. They wanted to show that not just Busch, but Richard Childress Racing itself was back in championship form. When you have a collapse like the No. 8 team did in the last two months, you put yourself behind.
At the Roval, he almost had a shot, but AJ Allmendinger was too good over the last few laps.
Now, Busch might have a win up his sleeve still. It just won’t matter as far as the playoffs are concerned for him personally. What does the 2024 campaign look like for Busch? Is he making a real run at the Championship Four a year from now?