NASCAR: Kyle Busch was the main beneficiary of the Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin debacle

Kyle Busch is no stranger to controversy in the NASCAR Cup Series. But it was he who ended up benefiting the most from the Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin debacle.

Without the debacle between NASCAR Cup Series drivers Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, the first driver to clinch a spot in this season’s Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida. would not be in the position which he is currently in as one of the four Championship 4 drivers.

Had Hamlin not wrecked Elliott at Martinsville Speedway to open up the Round of 8, Elliott would have gone on to win the race, thus locking him into the Championship 4, as opposed to finishing in 27th place. Hamlin would have finished in 2nd as opposed to 7th.

At Texas Motor Speedway, there were no blows exchanged between Elliott and Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick went on the win the race to secure his spot in the Championship.

Had Hamlin not wrecked Elliott at Martinsville, Elliott would have had no reason to get revenge to begin with, which is what he ended up doing at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday in the Can-Am 500. Elliott has said and he has proven that he races other drivers the same way by which they race him.

Here are his comments on the subject, word for word.

"“A wise man once told me that he’ll race guys the way they raced him with a smile on his face. That’s what I did today. I raced him the way he raced me. That’s the way I saw it. That’s about all I have to say.’’"

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Since Hamlin had dominated the Can-Am 500 up until the point during which Elliott shoved him into the wall, there was no reason to believe that he was not going to win the race, even though he did find himself out of the lead in the few laps before Elliott hit him. So by wrecking Elliott at Martinsville, Hamlin essentially wrecked his own chance of a win at Phoenix, thus throwing away a spot in the Championship 4.

So had Hamlin not wrecked at Martinsville, then he, Elliott and Harvick would have all locked up spots in the Championship 4 by winning one race each in the Round of 8. The final spot would have gone to Martin Truex Jr. because of the points position he was in. This would have left Kyle Busch out of the Championship 4 with no chance to win his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship this season.

Instead, Busch will be in the Championship 4 with a great chance to do so.

Next: NASCAR Playoffs: Pros and Cons

Will Kyle Busch be able to take advantage of the fact that he was the main beneficiary of the Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin debacle and win his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship, and thus his second in three years, in the Championship 4 at the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida? Tune in to NBC at 3:00 PM ET to watch the race live this Sunday, November 19th to find out.