NASCAR: Kyle Busch frustrated with backmarkers after Las Vegas

Kyle Busch was not afraid to show his frustration with backmarker cars following Sunday’s 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch entered the opening race of the four-round, 10-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as the regular season champion, and he entered atop the playoff-updated championship standings.

But early on in this race, the South Point 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he got into the wall and damaged his #18 Toyota, which caused him to make an unscheduled pit stop and mired him two laps off the lead lap.

Throughout the rest of the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada, Busch was able to work his way back from the low 30s onto the lead lap, and he was in position to secure a top five finish after his race appeared to be a lost cause early on.

But late in the race, he ran into the back of the #52 Rick Ware Racing Ford, driven by Garrett Smithley.

Here is a video of this incident.

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This contact damaged Busch’s car and prevented him from running at full speed throughout the remainder of the race. Several drivers drove by him and he ended up having to settle for 19th place, one lap off the lead lap, after he nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback effort following his early woes.

But in typical Kyle Busch fashion, he was not happy after the race and he made sure than everyone knew it.

Here is what he had to say after the race ended, according to NBC Sports.

"“I was told he was going to go high. I thought he was going to go high. He went middle because I thought he was going to go high. Killed our day. I don’t know. Should have run fourth probably. Instead 19th. We’re at the top echelon of motorsports, and we’ve got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack. It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do?”"

When asked about the fact that he entered the playoffs with a huge cushion over the round of 12 cut line because of the playoff points that he accrued throughout the 26-race regular season (and the huge cushion that he still has even after this disappointing result), he was not pleased.

"“It’s pathetic to have to lean on insurance. My premiums are going to go up.”"

But Busch’s comments didn’t stop there.

https://twitter.com/JasonCarter03/status/1173422497003270145

Jeff Gluck transcribed this interview.

https://twitter.com/jeff_gluck/status/1173428890540228608

Busch’s “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” remark is a remark made famous by former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, who ironically did a helmet swap with Busch before Sunday’s race and drove the pace car to lead the field to the green flag. Lynch used this line multiple times to the media ahead of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Kyle Busch further illustrated his frustration by taking aim at Gluck…for literally doing his job.

Kyle Busch is set to enter the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule, the Federated Auto Parts 400, on a 13-race win drought, his longest in over two years. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 21. He is the winner of two of the last three races at the track, and he won there in the playoffs last year.