0.361 seconds—that was all Kyle Busch had to cross over to reclaim his pride for the 2024 season. After a year that has seen him withstand multiple DNFs, speeding penalties, and post-race fights, Rowdy was on a war footing and was determined to replenish his and RCR’s drooping fortunes.

However, Chase Briscoe bested him on the very last lap of the Southern 500. And Busch accepted the defeat, albeit while hiding a lingering face of pain.

Kyle Busch admits to seniority

Leading a full-lived racing career with 63 Cup Series victories and two championships, Kyle Busch may have experienced it all. However, turning over a new leaf at the end of 2022 signaled he was hungry for more. Driving for Richard Childress Racing produced early-bird results, but then the wins stopped coming. This year, misfortune plagued the No. 8 Chevrolet team, but Busch roared back towards the end of the regular season. Yet, he could not carve his way into the playoffs with a desperately needed win.

After the lap 344 wreck at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Busch shuttled to the front. He trailed Chase Briscoe closely for several laps but, unfortunately, could not overtake him. But he refrained from blaming Richard Childress for the multiple technical difficulties that affected the team this year. In the post-race interview, Busch cited his veteran status as an obstacle. “Just come up short. Maybe I am a washed-up old dog but maybe I can find a few more trophies.”

The driver also harped on his missed opportunities. “I wanted it last week, I wanted it this week, Atlanta, Las Vegas. I can count them on one hand, maybe two hands that it slipped away. We’re performing right now and getting the finishes that we need.”

With the runner-up finish at Darlington, Kyle Busch and his team recorded a third straight top-five finish. Unfortunately, this speed came a tad too late for the playoffs. “You know, we just missed a lot of the year, into the middle part of the year to put ourselves in the spots…on the outside looking in. Just coming here after last week’s effort and a good shot. Earlier in the race, I think we really had a shot, we really overachieved in the end and got a good finish.”

Now, Rowdy can simply focus on winning one of the ten races left and uplift his racecraft. Although he does not have a playoff spot, Kyle Busch is now evidently confident in his speed. Yet he could not help but yield to Chase Briscoe’s superior driving prowess.

Busch acknowledges SHR star’s strategy

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After the final wreck on lap 344, Kyle Busch had an advantage. Fresher tires helped his No. 8 Chevy to rocket to the front. However, he was not alone in the race field with a good pit strategy. Chase Briscoe had been lingering around the top 10 all day long and boosted his winning chances with good tires as well. As Busch charged into second place after a restart on lap 351, he used all his skills to try to pass the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. However, Briscoe was way ahead of him and ended up gifting glory to his crumbling team.

Kyle Busch confessed that his skills could catch up with Briscoe’s speed, as the No. 14 Ford driver was running ahead. Busch thought the fresher tires would be enough. “Yeah, I did, when I made it through those guys on the start, I thought we had a shot to get there. I think I just needed him to have three or four laps’ older tires for me to be able to break through the wake, once I got within his air, I really didn’t have enough to power through that to get closer. I was kind of sliding already.”

Thus lay shattered Kyle Busch’s tiring pursuit to break into the playoffs. Despite that, it was a good run nevertheless, and Rowdy can now focus on winning a race instead.