NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Busch took a massive risk

By Asher Fair | Aug 5, 2019

WATKINS GLEN, NEW YORK - AUGUST 04: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Hazelnut Toyota, walks across the stage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 04, 2019 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Getting into a scuffle with Darrell Wallace Jr. was a massive risk for Kyle Busch given the positions of the two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

During the third and final stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, the Go Bowling at The Glen, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who had already gotten into a skirmish with Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron after sending him through the chicane toward the end of the race’s first stage, got into a scuffle with Richard Petty Motorsports’ Darrell Wallace Jr.

Busch and Wallace Jr. were bumping and banging into one another coming down the front straightaway of the eight-turn, 2.454-mile (3.949-kilometer) Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York on the 90-lap race’s 62nd lap.

Wallace was upset with Busch for spinning him into the wall in the carousel on lap 39, and this lap 62 brawl resulted in him spinning Busch’s #18 Toyota into turn one.

Here are two videos of the lap 62 incident.

https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1158121976235548672

Busch took a massive risk by beginning and substantially contributing to the escalation of this on-track argument, and it showed with how Wallace retaliated.

Busch is leading the championship standings, he is leading the playoff point standings and he is leading the playoff picture. His average finishing position is 7.36, which is 2.37 positions better than the next best, teammate Denny Hamlin’s at 9.73.

Nobody is in a better position than he is when it comes to potentially winning the 2019 championship.

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Wallace, meanwhile, sits in 27th place in the championship standings with a season-high finish of 15th, which is tied for the worst best finish among all 31-full-time drivers, and an average finishing position of 25.45, the fourth worst among the 31-full-time drivers.

Who has something to lose, and who doesn’t?

Likely or not, Wallace could easily go to the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-November and, assuming Busch qualifies for the Championship 4, take him out as he attempts to win his second championship. He is the kind of driver who wouldn’t shy away from doing it if he feels that it’s necessary. The words “F*** him” that he used about Busch illustrate that he may feel that it’s necessary, perhaps even three and half months down the road.

But as far as Busch is concerned, why take such a risk for a mid-pack position over a driver for whom a top 20 finish feels like a victory in a race that you don’t need to win and/or to make a statement to this, for lack of a better word, backmarker driver?

Weigh what you gain, and weigh what you might lose.

It’s not worth it.

I get it. Every point counts, especially toward the top of the regular season standings. The regular season champion is awarded 15 additional playoff points to carry all the way up until the Championship 4 while the second place finisher is awarded 10, and Busch leads Team Penske’s Joey Logano by just 13 points (851 to 838) with four races remaining on the 26-race regular season schedule.

But making an enemy that you have zero need to make and who can deliver payback in a much bigger way down the road is not worth it for the five extra playoff points that you might gain by gaining one position on the track.

A similar scenario took place last year. In the Xfinity Series, full-time driver Ross Chastain appeared to be en route to securing his first career victory at Darlington Raceway. Chastain, who also competed full-time in the Cup Series, but not for points, was then wrecked by full-time Cup Series driver and championship contender Kevin Harvick.

It didn’t happen, but Chastain could have taken Harvick out in the Cup Series Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to send the message that if you’re going to disrespect me when you have nothing to lose, don’t expect me not to do the same thing when you’re the one driving for a championship.

What did Denny Hamlin say after opting not to wreck Harvick for the win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway a few weeks ago?

“I got bigger dreams than just winning last week’s race at New Hampshire.”

Harvick is even a championship contender while Wallace isn’t.

I would hope that Kyle Busch has bigger dreams than beating Darrell Wallace for one additional point at Watkins Glen International.

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No matter how you slice it, Kyle Busch took a massive risk by getting into a pointless scuffle with Darrell Wallace Jr. at Watkins Glen International. The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway is still more than three months away, but Busch’s involvement in this scuffle could prompt Wallace to seek the ultimate revenge if he so chooses.

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