While several of the NASCAR Playoff contenders had bad days in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, none had the sort of up and down day Kyle Busch had.
Busch started 20th, brushed the wall on lap 6 while running 28th and began to fall back. He pitted on lap 12 and lost two laps getting repairs. He made up those two laps and was inside the top 10 by lap 218.
After the round of final stops, Busch was charging back through the field when on lap 253 he ran into the back of the car of Garrett Smithley entering turn 1. Busch was able to avoid spinning and was able to keep his damaged Toyota on the track
In the end he had to settle for a 19th place finish.
“Should have run fourth probably, instead 19th,” Busch said on pit road.
“We’re the top echelon of motorsports and we’ve got guys that have never won late model races running out here on the racetrack. It’s pathetic,” the obviously disappointed Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. “They don’t know where to go.”
He took no comfort in having the insurance of enough points coming into the Playoffs that Sunday’s finish only knocked him down to fourth in the standings.
“It’s pathetic to have to lean on insurance,” Busch quipped. “My premiums are going to go up.’’
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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