USA Today via Reuters
Oct 16, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Oct 16, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
At the Martinsville Speedway, Ross Chastain dominated the headlines. However, there were plenty of other storylines that went under the radar. One of them was Kyle Busch and his miserable day in the office. The #18 driver struggled at the back of the pack for much of the race, before eventually finishing in a lowly 29th.
Naturally, many fans were furious about Busch’s poor race, but didn’t blame him. Instead, their ire was directed towards Joe Gibbs Racing. It all started when NASCAR Xfinity driver Natalie Decker highlighted his plight and ‘how sh*tty’ his car was. According to her, Busch has the ability to make bad cars work. So if he could not drag out every ounce of performance from the JGR car, then the situation was truly dire.
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NASCAR fans also blamed JGR for poor Kyle Busch run at Martinsville
Some people wondered whether the 2-time Cup champion entered the race unmotivated, or whether it was the car. Few people admitted that from where they were sitting in the stands, Busch really did not care. There were plenty of occasions where Busch was languishing at the back, and even getting overtaken by back marker teams.
Makes you wonder if he went into the race not giving a damn, or if the car was actual trash
— Alan Nadeau III (@alannadeau2016) October 31, 2022
Sitting in the stand looks like yeah he did not care
— Larry ITS BRISTOL BABY (@larry25352065) October 31, 2022
Driver or team is clearly not putting a lot of effort in. Maybe both?
— CynicalJB (@JButler72) October 31, 2022
If ANYBODY has any doubt of whether or not KFB was giving it all he had, all you gotta do is look at his right rear tire…any questions? #RowdyNation pic.twitter.com/mnRsmhF7fj
— Family Man (@TeamKFBfan8) October 31, 2022
However, other people insisted that Kyle Busch was actually trying his hardest with the car. Some images doing the rounds on social media showed a set of tires that Busch was using. Safe to say, the tires looked like they were tortured and worn out almost to the canvas. This led people to suspect Joe Gibbs Racing, who suggested that a bad set of tires was to blame for the poor performance.
via Getty
HAMPTON, VA – OCTOBER 22: Natalie Decker from Eagle River Wisconsin, Stands on pit road at Langley Speedway on October 22, 2013 in Hampton, Virginia. (Photo by John Harrelson/NASCAR via Getty Images)
@JoeGibbsRacing trying to say it was a bad set of tires pic.twitter.com/qzfZhlBSf4
— Frankie Dodd (@FrankieDodd_) October 31, 2022
Yep that’s what happens when the car is wrecking loose every corner in a 500 mile race 😂. Had to get the media on their side.
— Camden Stewart (@Camden_Stewart) October 31, 2022
This is so insightful. You've raced cars that weren't great before because of funding limitations and if YOU are noticing Kyle's car was bad, it clearly was. I appreciate you tweeting about it!
— Mark Jarman (@markjarman) October 31, 2022
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@KyleBusch made a great decision to get away from JGR because they’ve shown there true colors multiple times and people forget. Take the drivers of the 20 car for example since @TonyStewart left it.
— Kyle Krause (@kkrause72) October 31, 2022
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A few fans appreciated Decker’s observations, as she had often raced in underfunded teams. So if she was able to notice that the JGR Toyota was a bad car, then it definitely was. Finally, some users on Twitter expressed their relief that Kyle Busch was finally leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. They said, “They’ve shown their true colors multiple times”. Even citing the example of the #20 car, which was driven by Tony Stewart. Since then, it had been piloted by Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Erik Jones, and now Christopher Bell.
WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Busch Trash Talks His 7-Year-Old Son After His Prophecy Came Untrue
