Kyle Busch Returning to Form Despite (Another) Near-Miss in Southern 500
In the final laps of Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Busch looked to make a significant return to form, mounting a valiant charge on Chase Briscoe in an attempt to score the walk-off win needed to make the Playoffs.
The opening two stages were average for Busch, hovering around 10th to 15th throughout the evening. But, when the flow of the race changed with quick cautions at Lap 315 and 323, so did the No. 8 team's approach.
Despite only having three green-flag laps on the tires, Randall Burnett was one of the few crew chiefs to bring their driver back to the pits for sticker tires. Busch made out swimmingly on that call, driving from outside the top-10 to a top-five spot.
When another similar sequence of cautions occurred at Lap 337 and 345, Burnett and Busch decided to run it back, even though they were running in the top five, which kicked the Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet to the fourth row on a restart with 17 laps to go.
Those directly in front had nothing for Busch on what ended up being the final restart of the race, with the No. 8 diving to the apron to pass four drivers by the exit of Turn 2. Less than two laps later, Busch was second, and hunting Chase Briscoe.
Spending the final 15 laps trying to close up the smallest of differentials between himself and Briscoe, the eventual race-winner, Busch had to settle for a second consecutive runner-up finish, losing out by 0.361 seconds.
"Yeah, I did [think it would be enough]," said Busch. "When I made it through a few of those guys right there on the start, I thought we had a start to get there. I think I just needed him to have maybe three or four more laps, older tires for me to be able to break through the wake. Once I got within his air, I really didn't have enough to power through that, to get closer. I was kind of sliding already."
Sunday's crown jewel event was the latest in a series of near misses for Busch, who used a two-tire strategy to finish fourth at Michigan and came up just short of the victory last time out at Daytona. That, combined with Austin Dillon's win at Richmond, has marked a total turnaround for Richard Childress Racing after the two-week Olympic break. It's the first time in a decade (since the Summer of 2014) that the team has placed an entry inside the top five in four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series events.
However, neither of the team's full-time drivers will be part of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2024, after Busch failed to win, and Dillon had the post-season eligibility stripped from his Richmond victory after NASCAR determined he intentionally wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap.
It's the first time since 2012 that Busch won't be a part of the Playoffs in NASCAR's premier division, and now sitting 20th in points after reseeding, the Las Vegas, Nevada native could be facing the worst points finish of his Cup Series career.
"Something to build on and get better for. We just missed a lot in the early part of the year, through the middle part of the year, to put ourselves in this spot, to be on the outside looking in," Busch added. "To come in here for a last-ditch effort and have a shot. Early in the race, I wouldn't have thought we had a shot. So felt like we really overachieved towards the end and got a really good finish for what we had or what I thought we had. We'll take that and keep building on it."
Even though the 39-year-old driver won't hoist the championship trophy in Phoenix this November, that won't deter the Richard Childress Racing driver from chasing his own piece of history. Should Busch win in one of the final 10 events of 2024, he would become the first driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series event in 20 straight seasons.
"No doubt. I wanted it last week. I wanted it this week. I wanted it in Atlanta. I wanted it in Vegas. There's been a lot of opportunities," Busch said about claiming that all-important victory. "Daytona 500 we were up front all day. I can count 'em at least on a hand. Maybe I need two hands to count opportunities that have slipped away."
There are several great racetracks for Busch in the final 10 races of the NASCAR Cup Series campaign, including Bristol (eight wins), Phoenix (three wins), Talladega, Martinsville, Watkins Glen, and Homestead (two wins). All of which make for great opportunities for the future Hall of Famer to return to Victory Lane.
"We're achieving right now and getting success from those runs and pulling into finishes that we need."
JOSEPH SRIGLEY