Kyle Busch is hated, indeed. So much so that a full-length documentary was made in 2022 to find an answer to “Why do we hate Kyle Busch?” And probably, this has a lot to do with his harsh tongue more than anything else. Back in 2007, after winning his first race in the Car of Tomorrow (COT) ever, he was asked how he felt about the NASCAR-designed car. “I can’t stand to drive them. They su-k!” Busch did not waste a moment to trash them with of Fox TV cameras rolling and a crowd of 160,000 listening! But now, that very tongue has brought some well-deserved praise for the ‘Rowdy’ guy.

Truth be told, Busch isn’t much known for his shenanigans wrecking his rivals at will. If you raced him clean, Rowdy would reciprocate, and this was evident from his last lap run during the Coke Zero 400 race. He had all the incentive and opportunity to take Harrison Burton out of the equation. But he chose to keep his hands clean, which added to a thrilling finish to the race. It’s not just the fans who feel that Busch has matured over the years; even Burton’s mom, Kimberle, applauded his racecraft after the Daytona race.

A playoff spot at the cost of a young driver wasn’t worth it for Kyle Busch

“Besides just flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do,” Rowdy said after the race. Reacting to this statement, Burton’s mom, Kimberle, took to X to appreciate Busch’s approach and idea of competitive racing. “I appreciate Kyle saying his only chance was Turning someone right rear at Daytona would be bad deal and That he had the morals not to do that even with playoffs is huge for Kyle’s race morals.”

2024 has arguably been the worst NASCAR season for Kyle Busch. But, with the Daytona race on the cards, there was always the possibility of a wildcard race. One that could overturn his misfortunes and secure a playoff spot. Rowdy hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2012, therefore, desperation was sky-high coming into the Coke Zero 400 race.

During the final stretch of the last lap, the No. 21 car edged ahead of the No. 8 Chevy. Trying to get past the leader, Busch switched lanes aggressively and even gave Burton a good bump in the back of his car. But the Wood Brothers Racing driver kept his cool and clinched his first career victory. Given how high the stakes were, Busch could’ve slid Burton out of his way, but he didn’t resort to such tactics. This was remarkably different from what his RCR teammate Austin Dillon did at the Cook Out 400 two weeks back.

Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to snatch the victory and Hamlin actually got hit at the right rear, a strict no for the NASCAR drivers. The incident ultimately saw him thrown out of the playoffs as a penalty despite keeping his victory. Burton’s win was memorable not only for Burton but also for the Wood Brothers, being their 100th win in team history. And Burton could not conceal his joy.

“I cried the whole victory lap. Got fired from this job, and I wanted to do everything for the Wood Brothers that I could. They have given me an amazing opportunity in life, and to give them 100 on my way out is amazing,” the No.21 driver said after the race, as his mom stood behind with tears in her eyes. “I knew he could do it, I have believed in (Harrison) since he was 4 years old,” Kimberle said after the race. And why not? Look at the struggle of the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee and current NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton with  WBR.

The past three seasons have been awful for Butron. Before starting his rookie Cup Series venture with WBR in 2022, Burton came off an impressive four NASCAR Xfinity Series wins driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2020. But that flash of brilliance was not visible in his outing with WBR. He could deliver just one top-five and five top-10 finishes in his prior 96 starts in the No. 21 Ford. As an understandable consequence, WBR announced in July that Josh Berry will drive the No.21 Ford in 2025. Burton raked up all those after the race.

“It’s been the hardest three years of my life and some of these guys’ lives,” Burton said after the race, referring to his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford crew. “To win in the way that we just did and beat the best in the business, Kyle Busch, across the line, it’s pretty fantastic,” he added. But Burton’s fantastic moment meant moving more towards the danger line for Kyle Busch as they head to the Darlington Raceway in the penultimate race of his season next Sunday.

Last roll of the dice by the #8 team in the Southern 500

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Normally, Daytona would serve as the regular season finale race. However, with the Olympic breaks disrupting this season’s schedule, the Southern 500 will be the final Cup Series race before the playoffs begin. While Daytona was indeed the best shot for Kyle Busch to get the job done, he certainly won’t count himself out of contention next weekend.

The egg-shaped oval is, undoubtedly, a tricky track for the drivers, but Rowdy knows how to secure a win at this iconic venue. In fact, the RCR star won the crown jewel NASCAR race back in 2008 and will look to repeat that with the No. 8 team. Not only that, for the first time this season, he has managed to get two consecutive top 5 results, a P4 finish at Michigan and a P2 at Daytona. If anything, the Next-Gen cars rely on a good streak of runs that eventually convert into victories, and this is exactly what Rowdy is banking on.

“We ran good there, the first time I ran with these guys early last year.” It was a P7 finish for the #8 team in last year’s spring race. But, 106 points off the cutline, nothing but a win would secure his progress into the knockout stages.