2023 can unofficially be called the NASCAR Year of Penalties, given the overwhelming amount of penalties it has handed out this year. Most drivers had something to say about the penalties. Fans stood firmly by the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro driver’s side when he asked why Denny Hamlin was being penalized but Joey Logano wasn’t at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Kyle Busch himself has been on the receiving end of several penalties this season, which has affected his performance as well. The entire NASCAR penalty may have blown over by now, but the teams are working hard to avoid it in the future.
At least, that was what could be gathered from the latest episode of the podcast MRN Crew Call. Here, Kyle Busch’s Crew Chief, Randall Burnett, joined Steve Post and Todd Gordon to dissect the nitty-gritty of the mistakes that may have affected this season’s performance.
Kyle Busch’s speed is being worked on, says the crew chief
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Kyle Busch is perhaps still confused as to why he was penalized at Dover in March, making his series of penalties an ideal topic for discussion. Innately, Gordon asked Burnett what efforts the team is making to ensure his missteps do not continue in the future.
To this, Burnett had nothing to provide other than reassurance on work in progress, he said, “We’re obviously still working on that. We’ve had a few speeding penalties sure, so Nate does a great job, our engineer. Him and Kyle really worked hand-in-hand on all that,” assured Burnett.
The previous penalties have perhaps made Kyle Busch and his team work harder on this aspect, even more so now that Busch has joined Richard Childress Racing. He further compares Busch’s speeding and penalty to those of Denny Hamlin.
“Kyle’s one of the best on pit road, one of the best on pit road so it’s like Denny. You get a lot of speeding building ‘cause you’re right there on the edge and so they’re working through that. We’ve done a better job” states Burnett. However, is just working on it enough?
Watch This Story: Joey Logano warns Denny Hamlin to watch out, reviving Kyle Busch’s respect argument.
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Kyle Busch has a long history of penalties
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In the recent few years, Busch has received multiple penalties on multiple events. Be it the 2019 Penzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, or the 2023 Daytona 500. NASCAR’s Truck Series has also received some hefty penalties in 2023. However, Kyle Busch did not challenge or make an appeal for the 10-point penalty. Fans were quite amused when Busch reasoned that his team’s budget did not accommodate appeals like those.
Kyle Busch has particularly been seen opposing against the penalty levied on Denny Hamlin, on the grounds of a confession Hamlin made on a podcast. He has even pointed out that the rulebook that NASCAR plays by is unclear, hence even the penalties were confusing. And, let’s not forget the 2022 Cup Series where Busch had to be black-flagged because of a piece of tape stuck placed over his grille.
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While NASCAR has gotten out of the urge to penalize drivers over matters that stun even the drivers, one can never be too sure. This season has so far been kind to Kyle Busch. Fans hope Busch can maintain that till the end of the season.