Kyle Busch hasn’t had the best 2024 season so far. The 64-time-Cup series race winner, who five times in his career has bagged 5 or more wins in a single season, has remained winless so far. This comes as a surprise for many since the two-time Cup Champion boasts a 20-season win streak. He also never missed a playoff since 2012. Both these streaks were put in jeopardy thanks to Chase Briscoe.

On two occasions, the #8 had a chance to make it to the playoffs first when he got a P2 in Daytona. And then in the final race of the regular season, he had an intense battle with Briscoe, ending that too in 2nd position. Now, when he yet again had a chance to continue his win streak, the SHR driver posed as a thorn in his way. The way drivers race nowadays disappoints Busch!

Kyle Busch disappointed at Chase Briscoe

The Kansas race presented a perfect opportunity. Busch started 3rd and had a good run. Eventually, in the final stage of the race, he got a chance to take the lead from Ross Chastain and maintained it cruising past the traffic. But when he reached Briscoe, who was in 26th, the #14 driver to keep his playoff hopes alive, refused to get a lap down. Busch tried to squeeze in from the outside, but this led to them contacting. The #8 hit the outside wall and spun, ending his run in the 19th position.

Kyle Busch did not like how he was not given space to pass. Post the race, he said, “I’m sure he was racing to stay on the lead lap and racing whoever was in front of him. Give you a lane, and let the leaders race and I wasn’t getting that, so I tried to force my hand to get that and get to his outside and when I did, just for some reason, whatever happened, gave all the air in all the wrong place and spun out.”

However, it was also crucial for Briscoe to get a good finish as he entered the race -7 points below the cutline. In his defense, Briscoe, although racing hard, talked about how he gave enough space. Post the race, he said, “When he got to me, I was making sure it was tight. I wasn’t just gonna pull over and give it to him, right? We are still racing for staying on the lead lap. I felt like I left him a car width and a couple inches and these cars are so sensitive, especially this track. If you are off to someone’s right rear, you just get so loose. Looked like that’s what happened.” Eventually, Briscoe finished the race in P24, widening the deficit to -25 points in the playoff standings.

Racing hard is inevitable since so much is at stake, especially in a playoff. While Busch raced for glory, Briscoe tried to get a good finish for his team’s playoff chances. It’s really debatable if the #14 should have given the #8 a chance to pass. Well, obviously Busch felt he should have been given more space as he hit out at drivers being selfish nowadays. “It doesn’t matter what I expect. I don’t think anybody gives anybody anything anymore. It’s all take, take, take,” he added.

This is not the first time Busch has opened up about the lack of respect in the current NASCAR garage.

Kyle Busch on the respect problem in NASCAR

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The most recent example that comes to mind is the Richmond race. Where Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to secure a win. While the desperation is understood, shouldn’t clean racing be a norm? Despite the NASCAR community calling him Rowdy, Busch has often been a champion of clean racing. In the Daytona race, Busch held his nerves when Harrison Burton took the lead on the last lap ahead of him. The veteran could have nudged or wrecked him, but he didn’t. Post the race Busch had said, “Besides just flat-out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do.”

Even last year too he had hit out at the Cup garage when Denny Hamlin wrecked Ross Chastain in the spring race at Phoneix. Busch had said, “We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage between the drivers at all,” Busch said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That’s where the problem lies. Nobody gives two (expletive) about anybody else. It’s just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can. We’re all selfish, granted. But there was an etiquette that once did live here.”

While many argue that intentional wrecks are a part of NASCAR’s history. But Busch disagrees. In his two-decade-long career, the veteran has seen it all. He named many legends who too championed the etiquette of racing, be it Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, or Dale Jarrett. But According to him the same code of behavior is non-existent now.

What do you think about how racing has evolved in terms of aggression on the track? Or racing hard in general. Let us know in the comments below.