Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson collided last week at the World Wide Technology Raceway. While the Hendrick Motorsports driver reversed his fortunes at Sonoma a week later, Busch’s Cup Series nightmare persisted. Despite his great pace, Rowdy’s chances for a strong finish were dashed in California when he collided with Ross Chastain.
Kyle Busch has only two top-five and five top-ten finishes this season, so 2024 hasn’t been his best year yet. Unfortunately, he is currently 37 races without a win, which is the longest winless streak of his career. Ross Chastain made a questionable move on Sunday in Sonoma, causing Busch to lose his lead.
Ross Chastain confesses he was perplexed after the Kyle Busch incident at Sonoma.
Kyle Busch has undoubtedly worked hard to improve his performance this season. A driver of his calibre is clearly capable of doing more, but despite his efforts, fortune does not appear to favour him. With the incident with Kyle Larson last week and Ross Chastain on Sunday, things are only getting worse for the #8 team.
Having said that, Busch is very much in contention for the playoffs, sitting in 15th place after 16 races. Despite being engaged in an accident with Chastain, Rowdy finished P12 on Sunday. To think about it, things could have been greatly improved if the incident had not occurred.
Busch and Chastain battled for fifth place on the final lap of the race at Sonoma. However, things took a dramatic turn approaching turn four as the #1 driver drove deep into the inside of the RCR driver. Despite Busch’s substantial interior space, Chastain locked his tires under braking and clipped the #8 car in the right rear.
It eventually spun Busch, resulting in a sad 12th place finish. Ross Chastain played a significant influence in this, but his thoughts suggested differently. Speaking after the race, the Trackhouse Racing driver seems pleased with the sort of racing. In an interview with Alex Weaver, he stated, “I feel like the first or second lap of the race and the last lap were the most exciting, and the rest were just making lap time besides some restarts.”
Interestingly, Chastain stated that he was perplexed by nearly everything that occurred at the finish of the race. He stated, “I’m pretty confused on how the strategy worked out, I don’t really know how the #5 won or how I finished fifth.”
He then pleaded his innocence on the Busch incident in eight words. Chastain stated, “I’m not sure what happened with the #8.” To be honest, I’m very perplexed about most of this. He [Busch] checked down into 4A; I popped out to avoid hitting him, and then I locked up, moving in to his right. Definitely not intending to run into him.”
While Chastain attempted to persuade his intent, Dale Earnhardt Jr. believed the #1 driver was innocent.
Given Ross Chastain’s aggressive racing style, it’s understandable that he looked guilty at Sonoma. Over the last few years, the Trackhouse Racing driver has been engaged in several accidents and cannot be deemed innocent. Having said that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. denied any wrongdoing in Chastain’s confrontation with Kyle Busch on Sunday.
During an appearance on “The Dale Jr Download,” Junior denied Chastain had any bad intentions. He responded, “I disagree with that. Could Ross have avoided this? Yes. Could Ross have anticipated that as soon as they both hit the brake pedal, there’s a point where you can say, ‘All right, Kyle is going to equal me into this braking zone.’ You can tell that very immediately. And you can say, ‘OK, I’m not going to get this spot.”
Dale Jr. then went into detail to prove Chastain’s innocence. He explained, “I’m not sure if he had a choice, but he didn’t go into the 8 on purpose. You can see him swing the back. You see the back slip, step out, he corrects into the 8, and then he says, “At that point, I just have to go.” Sorry this is happening to you, Kyle Busch, but I need to take care of the remainder of my lap.”
Without a doubt, this is an intriguing perspective from the great Cup Series driver. Ross Chastain did not have time to retract his judgments, and it was too late. Regardless of motive, Kyle Busch paid the price, and he is still looking for a win in 2024.
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