If there was one driver everyone had their eyes on at the Chili Bowl, it was Kyle Busch. A two-time Cup Series champ, NASCAR’s winningest active driver, and a rookie in midget racing? That combo had everyone curious to see how he’d do in the world’s biggest midget race. And while the veteran didn’t quite make it to the big show, he’s walking away with some valuable lessons.

But hey, it’s Kyle Busch we’re talking about. The guy doesn’t settle for anything less than a win. So, missing the final race at the Chili Bowl? Yeah, that’s gotta sting. We didn’t expect him to take home the Golden Driller, but an E-main finish? That feels like a bit of a letdown. And, true to form, Busch wasn’t shy about showing his frustration.

Kyle Busch opens up on his first Chili Bowl experience

It all started with a wish to race alongside his son Brexton Busch. The father-son duo took part in the Tulsa Shootout where Brexton secured his first Golden Driller. And while they were at it, why not jump into the Super Bowl of Midget racing? And everything was set, a Lucas Oil-sponsored car, well-known dirt racing crew chief Al Scroggins on his team, and some experience running in a midget at the Tulsa Shootout. Yet he could not achieve what he set for.

We would still say that Kyle Busch did manage to impress us. However, apparently not himself. No matter the finish, running in the Chili Bowl for the first time has got to be joyous. But when Busch was asked what was the disappointment-to-excitement ratio after his campaign, he told Frontstretch, “I am always pessimistic, glass half empty. So it’s fine. It was good. It was definitely a learning experience. I just wanted to show a little bit better. I felt like my learning experience here in just 40 laps that I got running yesterday and today running against the kerb was a lot. And understand that a little bit more and keep working at it.” 

Kyle Busch spoke about the kerbs earlier this week as well and pointed out the increase in kerbs over the week as his “biggest worry”. NASCAR tracks do have kerbs but with the size of the Next-Gen cars, it is easier to control but still hurts when you go over them. However, midget cars are more delicate, and hitting those kerbs too hard can be detrimental to your race. This was a recurring challenge for Kyle Busch during this year’s Chili Bowl Nationals and he feels he needs to keep working at understanding it.

Reflecting on his ambitions, Kyle Busch said, “Close. Little less. My crew asked me what I thought I could do or reach. I thought C main would be respectable. Didn’t reach that. But it all came to yesterday, the qualifier not going the way I needed the qualifier to go. That would have helped us put in probably the B today. And that would have been overachieving expectations. So messed up on all that. But can’t say enough about Al, Lucas Oil, Floracing. Everybody that helped us here in Midgets.”

While we understand the disappointment, didn’t Busch say he had zero expectations entering the Chili Bowl?

Kyle Busch actually superseded his expectations

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Previously, Busch had said that he was entering the Chili Bowl with “no expectations.” Rather, he had also said, “I’m not here to be Kyle Larson (2x Chili Bowl winner) or an Emerson Axsom (dirt racing prodigy) or anybody that comes out here and lights the world on fire.” 

However, his campaign started off like he would set it on fire. Finishing 2nd in his heat, with enough points, placed him third overall in the series with 118 passing points. Only behind, two-time reigning champ Logan Seavey (128 passing points) and Ryan Timms (120 passing points).

But then things went downhill from there. After starting 4th in the qualifier, he ended up 7th. But had another shot in a B main race to make it to the A-feature. He needed only 4th or higher. But in the race, despite starting on P1, he again finished 7th.

He was now in the F main with an uphill battle at hand. A P3 finish made him transfer to E main, but that was the end of his campaign. All he needed was a top-5 finish in the E main to progress to the D main, then C, B, and finally to A. However, he finished in P15 in the E group end things.

Still, that is a lot for a guy who had “zero expectations.” What do you think? Have you been following Kyle Busch in the Chili Bowl? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.