Kyle Busch upset with finish at COTA, 'hated' contact Christopher Bell made late

Kyle Busch pushed hard for a win at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA on Sunday, but ultimately he came up a little short and had to settle for a P5 finish.

His race with Christopher Bell down the stretch, though, was scintillating stuff for the viewer.

Busch had to contend with a late caution that cut down his lead considerably and allowed Bell to get into position to eventually make the pass. As he tried to do so, Bell hit Busch’s car hard and did some damage.

Kyle Busch wasn’t thrilled with that after the race.

“That was it on pushing the car,” Busch said, according to Brett Winningham of Speedway Digest. “I just wish we had equal tires to the 20. Once we had that yellow, you’re just in defense mode. Hated the contact in two and three bent the toe link.”

The late slide from Busch kept him from winning his first race in 59 Cup Series appearances, a long drought that is getting tougher and tougher to stomach. But Busch ran an excellent race for as long as his equipment held up.

And to his credit, Kyle Busch gave a hat tip to Bell for running it cleanly without a true take-out attempt. Ultimately he told The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck that the caution flag was the difference.

Christopher Bell outraces Kyle Busch, takes win

In an epic battle down the stretch, Christopher Bell pulled off the win over William Byron and Tyler Reddick, who made it very interesting in the end. Bell is the first NASCAR driver to earn two wins this season. Is this a sign of a huge season for the 20-team?

Winning two of the first three races of the season is a big deal. The last time someone won two in a row in the first three weeks was back in 2018 when Kevin Harvick won at Atlanta and Las Vegas back-to-back.

We had a little bit of everything in this race. There were only a couple of cautions for cause and yet it was an action-packed race from start to finish. Cars were wrecking on Lap 1 and they were trading paint and bumping each other the entire time until the checkered flag.

Christopher Bell gets a big win at Circuit of the Americas. Atlanta and now COTA. He got it done over two of the best in the business.

On3’s Jonathan Howard also contributed to this report.