Daytona domination has primarily escaped Kyle Busch. The 39-year-old has secured only one win on the 2.5-mile oval since 2016, despite having 63 Cup Series victories to his name. However, he came so very close to achieving a landmark triumph at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 last weekend—which would have been his maiden win this season—only to be thwarted by Harrison Burton in the final lap.

The Wood Brothers Racing driver, aided by a push from Parker Retzlaff, took control of the race and immediately blocked the two-time Cup Series winner to secure his team’s 100th victory. While Kyle Busch vehemently stated there was nothing he could’ve done to stop Burton, not everyone agrees or even expects that from a driver of his caliber.

Bewildered at the way the Richard Childress Racing driver handled the final moments at Daytona, NASCAR legend Kyle Petty, known for his honest commentary, didn’t hold back. Sharing his views in the post-race analysis, Kyle Petty pinned the blame on Rowdy for the runner-up finish, saying, “That’s all on him”, and added, “As soon as Harrison Burton gets to the front, what does he do? He pulls down and blocks Kyle Busch. Has Kyle Busch never watched Joey Logano or Brad Keselowski take control of a Speedway race? Does he not know what video is? Somebody needs to send him a DVR, a TiVO, whatever it is. Send him some old race footage so he understands this.”

Notably, in a post-race conference, Busch had stated, “Besides just flat out wrecking him, there was nothing else I could do”. Perhaps, Petty wanted Busch to win in Tony Stewart’s fashion when he dumped Busch the closing laps of the 2009 Daytona II to win the race. But, then again, we all know where aggressive driving can take you.

Just look at the Richmond Raceway, for example, when Rowdy’s teammate Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to secure his first win of the season. The 34-year-old was stripped of playoff eligibility and docked 25 points. Moreover, a lot was riding on the Rowdy. With no wins so far, Busch was aiming to replicate Martin Truex Jr’s success—who currently sits at a 58-point advantage above 17th place, almost securing his playoffs hopes—despite the lack of a win.

Hence, Kyle Petty’s frustration is understandable. Just 0.047 seconds separated Busch from Harrison Burton at the checkered flag at Daytona International Speedway, an indication of just how close the RCR driver came to securing a playoff sport. For a driver with Rowdy’s experience and accomplishments, it’s natural to wonder if there was something he could have done to avoid the situation. Especially against his relatively inexperienced 23-year-old opponent, who hadn’t secured a single Cup Series victory until that point.

This is especially heartbreaking because coming to Daytona, the #8  was as confident as ever. “We could legit win Daytona,” the driver had beamed confidently. Even though plenty of alternate scenarios played in Busch’s mind and he seemed happy with his P2 finish initially, emotions soon changed!

Kyle Busch expresses frustration at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 outcome

The ongoing Cup Series campaign has been a difficult one in Kyle Busch’s illustrious career. Not only does he run the risk of finishing the season winless for the first time in his full-time career, but he could also miss out on playoffs for the first time since 2005. NASCAR is a sport of fine margins, and Rowdy has come so close to victory on two separate occasions. Busch missed out on Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year by just 0.007 seconds, and he almost tasted victory at Daytona, only for it to be snatched away.

Speaking to NBC Sports’ Dustin Long after the race, Kyle Busch said, “It’s just frustrating. We’ve led races here at Daytona going into the last restart and haven’t been able to pull off a victory. Not sure what it is; what I’m doing wrong or what it is that I’m missing. It seems like the energy broke up off of Turn 2 and the No. 20 [Bell] got crooked and wasn’t on my rear bumper the way we needed to be. The outside lane just went by. I wanted to get up in front of the No. 21 [Burton] because I knew the momentum was coming there. But I knew the No. 20 was a better friend. It just didn’t work out.”

All hope is not lost. Kyle Busch has one final opportunity to salvage his season at Darlington Raceway, which is the final race of the regular season. The objective is simple: victory will guarantee him a place in the playoffs, while any other result will end his season early. Momentum is on the 39-year-old’s side, with two top-five finishes in the last two races. All he needs to do is take one step forward at the Cook Out Southern 500 to secure that elusive victory.

Do you think he’ll be able to do it? Let us know in the comments!