Kevin Harvick Dissects Kyle Busch’s “Short Fuse,” Singling Out Richard Childress’ Glaring Anomaly

Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway was possibly Kyle Busch’s best chance of making it to the playoffs. It has been a disappointing season for the 39-year-old and his #8 team, who have struggled with pace. Busch has only managed to finish in the top-10 five times this season, and top-5 twice. A stark contrast from his season last year, where he won thrice in the first 15 races, including the one at Gateway.

The disappointment continued last weekend when Kyle Busch crashed out of the race on Lap 140, and questions were raised about his temperament at Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast.

What went wrong for Kyle Busch?

Busch forced Kyle Larson into a shallow corner entry while racing for seventh place on the final lap of Stage 2. This move caused Larson to get loose, sending both drivers into the outside wall. Despite the damage to Busch’s #8 car being beyond repair, Larson managed to bounce back from the incident and ultimately finished the race in 10th place.

The intense competitive spirit of both accomplished drivers was evident as they battled fiercely at the end of stage 2 for an additional stage point. However, Busch isn’t in a position to have a DNF, especially considering that the two-time Cup Series winner hasn’t won a single race so far and risks not making it to the postseason playoffs. He is currently sitting outside the playoffs bubble in P17, and results like the one at Gateway could force Busch to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Kevin Harvick, speaking at the Happy Hour podcast, joined co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith to discuss the incident. The NASCAR legend said “I viewed that as a little bit of frustration from Kyle Busch with Kyle Larson pretty quickly over what didn’t look like a lot of contact. I don’t know what you think but it didn’t look like a lot of contact to me.”

Mamba Smith replied to this, saying, “I thought that was just a normal, I mean, we have fenders for a reason. It’s not like he doored him in the corner, it was down the straightaway and then, I don’t know. It just felt like he’s to the point where he has a short fuse.”

Harvick then went on to criticize Richard Childress’ pit crew by saying, “He’s had a lot of terrible things happen with the pit crew. The pit crew hasn’t done a great job at all. Kyle’s had a couple of these moments now, a few of these moments with a few guys on the racetracks so his fuse is short but it’s short for a reason. That’s because the cars aren’t running good and they are not getting the finishes.”

Although Harvick has a sound reasoning for his ‘short fuse,’ Kyle Busch’s troubles are far beyond it, and he’ll try to overcome them.

Could Sonoma be a turning point for Busch?

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Unlike competing at Ovals, road courses are an entirely different ballgame. Sonoma Raceway could be the perfect venue for Kyle Busch to stage a comeback. If there’s one driver in NASCAR right now who knows how to win, it’s Kyle Busch. His 63 Cup wins are the most among active drivers. He came close to securing his third win in Sonoma last year, only to finish runner-up behind Martin Truex Jr.

However, unlike last season where he could afford to finish second because he had already won thrice, Busch desperately needs a result this time around. All evidence points towards the fact that he isn’t in a race-winning team, a bitter pill to swallow for Busch and Richard Childress Racing fans. If the driver and his team have any chance of making it to the playoffs, they will have to rethink their strategy for the remaining races.

Do you think Kyle Busch will make it to the playoffs? Let us know in the comments!