Kyle Petty wonders if Kyle Busch has 'forgotten how to speedway race'
If there’s a flaw in Kyle Busch’s game, it’s Daytona. Busch has 63 Cup Series wins in his career, though just one at the “World Center of Racing,” the 2008 Coke Zero 400.
Busch looked primed to add to his tally in this past Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, taking the white flag as the race leader. But as Busch led the pack down the backstretch, it was Harrison Burton, aided by a push a from Parker Retzlaff, who took control of the race. Burton raced past Busch and then blocked him on the bottom, taking the checkered flag to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Kyle Petty watched it all as it unfolded, and has one major question: “Has [Kyle Busch] forgotten how to speedway race?”
Kyle Petty scratching his head at Kyle Busch’s final lap run at Daytona
“Has he forgotten how to speedway race? What in God’s name happened? He has control of the race on a green-white-checkered,” Petty said Monday. “He has the inside line, [and] he gets there with his friend Christopher Bell who is gonna help him because they were teammates at one point in time. They take the green flag, they take control of the race, they run on the bottom of the racetrack that first lap. Harrison Burton and Parker Retzlaff in the No. 62 car, who had the biggest influence on the outcome of the race. Yeah, I know he finished seventh, but he changed the complexion of this race.
“They come back around, take the white flag, they come off Turn 2. Kyle Busch is on the inside and who comes up on the outside? Harrison Burton with Parker right behind him, slamming him to the front. And as soon as Harrison Burton gets to the front, he pulls it down and he blocks Kyle Busch. Has Kyle Busch never watched Joey Logano or Brad Keselowski take control of a speedway race? Does he not know what video is? Somebody needs to send him a DVR, whatever it is. Send him some old race footage so he understands this.”
Kyle Busch expresses frustration after P2 finish at Daytona
Perhaps Busch could have been more aggressive on that final lap, but it’s important to note that he did give Burton all he could handle. Unfortunately for Busch, Burton was better for the final half lap. The bottom line also struggled to keep its momentum on that final lap, Bell unable to get to the back of Busch’s bumper to give him a push.
“It’s just frustrating. We’ve led races here at Daytona going into the last restart and haven’t been able to pull off a victory,” Busch said after the race, via Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “Not sure what it is; what I’m doing wrong or what it is that I’m missing. It seems like the energy broke up off of Turn 2 and the No. 20 [Bell] got crooked and wasn’t on my rear bumper the way we needed to be.
“The outside lane just went by. I wanted to get up in front of the No. 21 [Burton] because I knew the momentum was coming there. But I knew the No. 20 was a better friend. It just didn’t work out.”
The situation remains the same for Busch heading into Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington: Win, or miss out on the postseason for the first time since 2012.