As the playoff drama in the Round of 12 reached its peak at the Charlotte Roval, all eyes were on Kyle Busch, who found himself teetering on the edge of elimination. Busch was the lowest-ranked driver, 26 points behind the cutoff line. And in desperate need of a victory to keep his championship hopes alive. However, according to an Insider, Busch never really had a chance at Roval considering his track record at road courses since 2015.

To secure his place in the next round, Busch faced the uphill task of clinching victory at the challenging Charlotte Roval. Busch, a 38-year-old veteran, had tackled the Roval course five times. Securing two top-five finishes, with a career-best third-place finish the previous year. However, a third-place finish fell short for him this year.

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The 2023 season had commenced with promising momentum for the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver. However, as the playoffs progressed, he struggled to maintain his form, ultimately failing to qualify for the Round of 8. And heading to Roval, a road course, where he has not managed a win since 2015. It was always going to be difficult for Kyle Busch to pull off a win from nowhere.

While the primary objective for Richard Childress Racing‘s #8 team was a win. Kyle Busch and his crew chief, Randall Burnett, failed to even accumulate crucial points in both stages of the race. With 8th position in stage 1 and 10th position in stage 2, they only managed to score 4 points. However, as the race unfolded, Busch fought tenaciously at the front of the pack, even leading for a stretch. But the final restart with 10 laps to go proved challenging. And he couldn’t maintain his position, or even attack the race leader, ultimately finishing in third.

In stark contrast, Tyler Reddick impressed everyone with his performance, securing his spot in the Round of 8. Despite initially finding himself just two points shy of the elimination line, the 23XI Racing star driver showcased his prowess at the Charlotte road course. He averaged an impressive 33.3 points per race on this challenging track, outperforming other playoff drivers not yet locked into the Round of 8. Reddick’s claim to fame included being the only driver with multiple road-course wins in the Next Gen car, solidifying his status as a road course specialist.

During a recent conversation on NBC, Dustin long spoke his mind about Kyle Busch. Long commented, “Kyle Busch, you knew he had to win. He hadn’t won a road course race in Cup since 2015. The guy can do it, but it just seemed like all the odds were in place that [were] against him. Unless something unique happened, you were looking at Tyler Reddick versus Brad Keselowski, and I think that’s kind of how it played out on Sunday.”

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Speaking after the race, Kyle Busch did not shy away from taking the responsibility of being eliminated.

Kyle Busch takes full responsibility for getting eliminated in the playoffs

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Crew chief Randall Burnett acknowledged the team’s relentless effort, congratulating them for their performance. However, he also expressed regret for falling just short of victory. In a moment of introspection, Busch shouldered the blame for his team’s points deficit.

The two weeks leading up to the Charlotte Roval race had been challenging. Busch crashed out at Texas Motor Speedway and finished 25th at Talladega Superspeedway, failing to secure stage points in either event.

Speaking to reporters on pit road in Concord, Busch took full responsibility, stating, “The bigger defining factor ? of today is the last two weeks and not scoring enough points. So, you know, that?s on me just not doing a good job at Texas when we did have a good car. And then again last week (at Talladega). Being in position to score points both times at the end of the stages and losing spots. Just looked like I threw out the anchor.”

The Charlotte Roval race served as a dramatic stage where Kyle Busch’s playoff aspirations were dashed, while Tyler Reddick’s exceptional performance solidified his presence in the Round of 8. What are your predictions for the next round of eliminations? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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