Kyle Busch’s 2024 season has been a bit underwhelming so far. The #8 driver has not won a single race at all to date. Sure, he has come close on multiple occasions, but he has often been the best man and never the groom. With 15 races done and dusted, he is running out of time to get his name on the scoreboard. Naturally, he decided to go hell for leather at the World Wide Technology Raceway, and Kyle Larson bore the brunt of it.

In light of this, former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace broke down the incident between the two drivers. The duo were practically trading paint until Larson got loose underneath Busch. With that, the HMS driver slid upwards towards the wall, but there happened to be a Kyle Busch in its trajectory. The obvious conclusion to this equation was that both cars were in the wall, but Larson had less damage. This stemmed from Busch cushioning his car with his own Richard Childress Racing machine, not by choice.

How did Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson tangle at Gateway?

In the buildup to the accident, there were multiple factors at play. Both drivers are on different strategies, so their pace was different. The second stage is close to wrapping up, and there are points up for grabs. Busch was aware of this and elected to go for a Hail Mary, which did not pay off. Wallace recounted on his YouTube channel, “The crowd’s on their feet, because we see the two Kyles going at it. Kyle Busch on the outside – and that was the preferred lane all day long – This lane was big and wide, it’s way out there. It looks like you’re on a dirt track. They’re like, ‘Whoa! They get any higher, they’re gonna be in the marbles. They’re gonna be in Never Neverland’. Kept pushing this groove higher and higher. Kyle Busch is out there, he’s driving Kyle Larson nuts. Here’s the deal, Kyle Busch had two tires on, right? Here comes Larson with four tires, and think about it now. Kyle Busch has not won a race, he’s on a winless streak. This doesn’t happen very much. He’s going on every single year of his career in the Cup Series, winning a race.”

There were four laps and both drivers were in the top 10. Then, Busch decided to block the Hendrick Motorsports machine, which was fair. Suddenly, he does a volte face and they are literally door-to-door. Heading into the corner, Busch squeezed his fellow Kyle and the latter lost control. At least some form of karmic justice existed because Larson was able to continue while Busch was headed for an early shower.

Kyle Busch shares his thoughts on the incident

In an incident like this, it is easy for the red mist to linger and drivers to say something in the heat of the moment. However, Busch simply admitted that he was trying to hold off his rival and earn stage points. Of course, he apologized to the team, and Wallace actually found that highly unusual. Unfortunately, it still resulted in Busch’s first DNF, while Larson went on his merry way to finish in 10th.

Wallace was also quick to observe Kyle Larson and the way he was dealing with the fallout of his double attempt. After the Indy 500, rain stopped Larson from running at Charlotte. As a result, he was counted as a non-starter and ineligible to compete for the championship. Amid the waiver conundrum, Larson is taking out any frustration with more races elsewhere. In essence, both drivers were equally aggressive and frustrated for different reasons. As such, their meeting on the track was a powder keg waiting to blow up.