Kyle Busch can be called the unluckiest driver of the season. The man who almost won three races by being in the lead couldn’t keep his position at Daytona, Darlington, and now at Kansas. While the first two incidents took place on the last lap, leading to Busch not getting a spot in the playoffs, Kansas was a different story altogether.
At Kansas, Kyle Busch was trying to lap Chase Briscoe, the man who beat him at Darlington; however, the former was put in a position from where he spun out and lost the lead. Busch finished 19th, and just like that, he missed yet another chance to claim victory. Looking at the incident that involved Busch and Briscoe, many blame the SHR driver for not giving the veteran room to overtake, but from Kevin Harvick’s analysis, that did not seem to be the case.
Kevin Harvick weighs in on Kyle Busch’s missed chance
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If Busch does not win in the upcoming races, this will be the first time in his Cup Series full-time career that he had a winless year. So it’s only fair that Kyle Busch tries everything in his power to win a race. So when Kyle Busch had a chance to lap Chase Briscoe, he decided to take it to better his lead. Right behind Busch was Ross Chastain, who was a direct threat to the former’s victory, and overtaking under pressure got the best of the RCR driver.
Kaitlyn Vincie and the team at Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast were discussing the incident. That’s when Vincie shared that she did not believe that Chase Briscoe left any room for Busch to pass. However, when she asked Harvick for his opinion, the former NASCAR driver said, “I saw enough room. Okay, personally. And when you go back and you look at that, when I was initially watching this, I looked at my wife, and I’m like, ‘Oh, 14 just put the eight in a fence.'”
Harvick stated, “There was a couple of feet there. And I think after listening to all the interviews and everything that happened, you know, Chase was not—he left a lane.“ However, that lane was not seen as enough as there was no room on either side of the car, and they were all too close to the fence.
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What happened to Kyle Busch was that he caught some dirty air that made him lose control of the car, slamming into the fence. After looking at the wreck from multiple angles, Harvick spoke about Chase Briscoe’s position during the race. “He’s a playoff guy, and he’s trying to stay on the lead lap and not go a lap down and be in a position to where he can’t salvage something else out of the finish. But you know, when you go back and look at it from this aerial view, he leaves that lane, and listening to Kyle talk about it, you wind up in these funny pockets of air.”
Speaking from experience, Harvick explained how the aerodynamics work at 200+ mph. The 48-year-old then spoke about how Busch has experienced losing a lot this season, and in some cases, it has been because of spinning out. Chase Briscoe finished 24th after the incident, Catching up with the back of the pack, but this was not the finish he wanted either.
Chase Briscoe’s difficult playoff run
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This is Chase Briscoe‘s 4th season in the Cup Series and he made it into the playoffs for the second time. His chances seemed slim to none, but a good day at Darlington changed everything. With a last chance to make it into the top 16, Briscoe surprised everyone at Darlington, however, his first playoff race was an absolute disaster.
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Briscoe DNFed at Atlanta after a collision with Kyle Larson just before stage 1 ended. Larson spun out and crashed into the wall, leaving a smokescreen on the track. Briscoe was unsure about how to navigate through it and ended up crashing into Larson. This led to the end of his race, which put him in a tough position.
Briscoe made up for his DNF in the next two races- coming in 6th at The Glen and 8th at Bristol. His momentum dropped at Kansas again where his P24 finish put him in the elimination zone ahead of the top 8. One of the easiest ways to confirm that a driver will go to the next round is by winning a race. There are two more races before the next elimination and that’s where Briscoe will have to give it his all.
Talladega and ROVAL are not easy tracks to conquer by any means, but with Briscoe’s back up against the wall, do you think he will be able to make it through this round? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Did Ryan Preece just prove he's the real deal by shutting down Kyle Busch's comeback?