NASCAR: The one race Kyle Busch felt he should’ve won

By Asher Fair | Jul 18, 2020

Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Pocono, NASCAR, Cup Series (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

It’s no secret that Kyle Busch has not had the start to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season he has wanted. Which is the race that left him most frustrated?

Coming off of the season in which he won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship with a victory in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch has not had the year he has wanted.

Busch’s only win in the last 13-plus months is his win in the 2019 season finale, as he is winless through the first 17 races of the 36-race 2020 campaign. He has led just 139 laps and has led more than 14 laps just once, and he has yet to even win a stage.

If the playoffs were to start today, Busch, who sits in 11th place in the championship standings, would be tied for last in points among the 16 playoff drivers with Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto, as they are the only two drivers currently in the playoff picture who have not earned any playoff points and would not earn any by finishing the regular season outside of the top 10 in points.

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Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that of Busch’s 139 laps led, 100 came in one race, meaning he has led just 39 circuits over the course of the other 16 events that have been run this year. That one race took place at Bristol Motor Speedway at the end of May. He finished in fourth place after rebounding from a penalty.

But asked which race was the most frustrating race that he felt he should have won, Busch went with the second race at Pocono Raceway, a race in which he wrecked.

“The second race at Pocono was pretty frustrating for sure,” Busch told Beyond the Flag. “I think Adam and the M&M’S Minis guys did a great job making changes with the car overnight from Saturday to Sunday.”

Busch led two laps of this race and arguably had the car to beat before he was involved in a crash in turn two of the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer).

As he approached the lapped #53 Chevrolet of Rick Ware Racing’s Garrett Smithley on lap 75 of 140, Busch’s #18 Toyota was hit from behind by the #12 Ford of Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Busch had just passed Blaney for the lead before they made their pit stops several laps earlier.

The 35-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native has been vocal about his frustration over a lack of practice since NASCAR returned to action following the 10-week hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, so the fact that this race was the second race of a doubleheader unsurprisingly resulted in him having a strong run, given that the first race was almost like a practice session, one in which he finished in a solid fifth place.

That’s what made having it get away even more irritating.

“Felt like we were going to at least have a shot at the win and we were on a pit strategy that I wish we could have seen how it would have worked out,” he continued. “Just unfortunate ending because we had a decent car on Saturday, but felt it was much improved on Sunday and we never got to see how it would have turned out.”

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NASCAR has two more Cup Series doubleheaders scheduled for the near future, both at tracks where Busch has won. The first is scheduled to take place at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9 while the second is scheduled to take place at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23.

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