“Stinks to lose in that way” were the words of Ryan Blaney, who came really close to winning at the iconic Brickyard 400. But he didn’t. Paving the way for Kyle Larson to win his fourth race of 2024 was a lot of drama. But it was the last episode, the very last moments of the race, that sealed the deal in an almost scripted way. While everyone had the usual list of suspects for who played the most significant role in Larson’s win – NASCAR, Ryan Preece – Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dirty Air crew added Kyle Busch to the list.

If you think about it, Kyle Busch did play a significant role in the chaos that ensued toward the end of the Brickyard 400. And it all started with three laps to go when the No. 8 made contact with Denny Hamlin’s No. 11. In the caution that followed, race leader Brad Keselowski gambled by staying out, keeping his front-row position next to Blaney. But his gamble backfired as he ran out of fuel just before the restart, which (unfairly, if you ask Blaney) promoted Kyle Larson to the front.

Two overtime restarts, a multi-car crash, and a red flag later, the Hendrick Motorsports driver took the white flag ahead of Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney. Discussing the series of events on the July 24 episode of Dale Jr Download, Junior said, “Ryan Preece gets spun out [on the final lap] by Chase Elliott. Unintentional. Preece runs out of gas coming off of Turn 2. I was wondering how that all went down because I was so ready to blame Preece for all of this nonsense.” The “nonsense” Junior is talking about here is the fact that the caution following this wreck came out after Larson took the white flag.

Andrew Kurland, though, had a different opinion. “I think Kyle Busch was the caution that led to this, though. So, for pointing fingers, I think it’s Kyle Busch,” he said. “He sent us into overtime. He makes the list.” And Dale Jr seemed to agree. Had that collision with Denny Hamlin not happened after entering Turn 3 too low, causing his car to push up the track, the race wouldn’t have gone into overtime. And Brad Keselowski or Ryan Blaney would’ve most likely taken the victory.

However, due to the caution and Keselowski running out of fuel, Kyle Larson (originally third) moved up to fill the RFK Racing co-owner’s spot. The No. 5 driver then used the preferred starting lane to blast past Blaney and take control, holding the lead through a second restart to win the race. Understandably furious, Blaney said, “With this, you’re promoting the third-place guy before the second-place guy if the leader has problems. That’s not right. It’s dumb luck.”

“I’m just upset. That’s a heartbreaker,” he added. “We did everything right today. I was in a prime position to win, and just didn’t work out for us. Just got unlucky.” Even Kyle Larson admitted the situation was baffling. With the leader out, Larson wasn’t sure if his car or Blaney’s would control the restart. He doubted Blaney knew either. So, Larson decided to make his move, thinking both cars would speed up at the same time.

After the race, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, shed some light on the confusion. He explained that if the caution had lasted one more lap, Blaney would have been the control car. However, current rules would have prevented any lane changes.

“We had already gone through the choosing process, so we were coming to green when [Keselowski] pulled off, which allowed [Larson] to pull up and transferred control to [Blaney],” Sawyer told NASCAR’s digital platform. “This all happens fairly quick. [In] hindsight, I think we still would have let that play out the way we did. We’ll discuss that more,” he added.

In the thriller that was the Brickyard 400, another driver paving the way for Kyle Larson was perhaps Ryan Preece, who also made it to Dale Jr’s list.

How did Ryan Preece come into the picture?

Just as the controversial series of events seemed to be heading to a usual finish with Kyle Larson taking the white, Ryan Preece spun out in Turn 2 during the second overtime after running out of fuel and making contact with Chase Elliott. NASCAR had a tough call to make: throw the caution flag immediately or let the race finish under green. They opted to wait, triggering the caution after the leaders passed the white flag. This meant the race ended under yellow, preventing a potential third overtime that could have shuffled the standings.

Preece, much like Keselowski, took a gamble with fuel. Justifying this decision after the race, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver said, “We just got caught in a tough spot there at the end of the race. We decided to stay out and risk it on fuel and it just didn’t work in our favor today.” As for NASCAR’s decision to hold off on the yellow flag, Elton Sawyer clarified things, too.

“Obviously we’d like for it to play out naturally,” Sawyer said. “We want our teams to race to the checkered flag. We did everything we possibly could.” Earlier in the race, when Kyle Busch wrecked, there was an immediate caution even though the RCR driver continued. However, even though Preece stopped on track, there was no caution. Explaining this, Sawyer added, “We kept an eye on the No. 41. He got turned around. He was really giving a solid effort and once he came to a stop and we could tell that he had, I think, a flat left-rear tire he wasn’t going to move.”

Standing by the decision, he concluded, “We’d already taken the white; we just couldn’t run by there again. So it was unfortunate, but it was the right call.” In the end, it was Kyle Larson who took victory. Whether it was Kyle Busch, NASCAR, or Ryan Preece who played the biggest role, Ryan Blaney came off worst. That said, with NASCAR on a two-week break, who do you think will be in front when the Cup Series returns to Richmond?