
via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, sog during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, sog during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
If only. That’s what Kurt Busch had in mind right after the end of the long race at Nashville. The 23XI Racing driver finished an impressive P2, but it could’ve been better, if not for one thing.
That one thing was his willingness to race hard the eventual race winner, Chase Elliott.
Busch admitted in a post-race interview that he went “soft” on the Hendrick Motorsports driver. “I should have been throwing some fenders and moving some momentum around. I didn’t stick with our strength,” he described.
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The veteran driver was so caught up in what he could’ve done differently that he confessed he is still “zoned in” on the restart.
“I just wanted to throw some fenders and I didn’t get the job done. So I’m happy with second but my guys, everybody’s smiling but I let them down. I should’ve come up with a better plan,” Busch added.
Bubba Wallace reveals the advice from mentor and teammate Kurt Busch
In a recent interview, Bubba Wallace, who has had a season full of bad results pertaining mostly to bad luck and things out of his hands, revealed the advice his teammate, Kurt Busch, gave him.
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“Kurt Busch told me that after I junked him at Darlington last year, he said, “Every stage is a reset. Carrying over something from the first stage to the third stage, you’re just hurting yourself and your team, so understand that and enjoy the moment that you’re in,'” Wallace said.

USA Today via Reuters
May 21, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch (45) car on pit road before cup practice for the All-Star race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Busch himself admitted that he embraced the role of a mentor-teammate for Wallace, who has mostly been on his own in his NASCAR career. But in order for this to work, Busch feels, Wallace needs to admit his weaknesses, and he, his.
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“I mean, I’m not the oracle or anything, but I feel like I can help him. And I know I can learn things from him because that’s how I think I’ve stayed relevant for 22 years is continuing to learn and being adaptive to the situations,” he added.
Also Read: Bubba Wallace Explains Why He Doesn’t Get “Starstruck” by Michael Jordan
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