DARLINGTON, S.C.: A last-ditch effort for Kyle Busch and his Richard Childress Racing team came up one position short in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Last weekend, Busch finished second at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway watching Harrison Burton score his first career NASCAR Cup Series and soar his Wood Brothers Racing team into the Playoffs.
With one more chance to put his Welcome, N.C.-based team into the 10-race championship run, Busch would steadily move forward throughout the 500-mile race to put himself in contention when it mattered most.
Hard-fought chassis adjustments by Randall Burnett kept the No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet Camaro in the hunt, and by Stag 3, Busch was creeping into the picture as a legitimate threat to win his first race of the season.
The race’s long green-flag run pace flipped when Carson Hocevar spun with about 50 laps to go. The teams went to pit road for tires, fuel, and more adjustments to the finish.
Restarting the race inside the final 50 laps, caution became more frequent, including Busch squeezing a major crash that involved some of the Playoff hopefuls on Lap 344.
Inside the top five, Busch elected to pit while leaders Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson remained on the race track.
With the green flag waiving for a 17-lap shootout, Busch found himself eighth but by two laps with fresh tires and a balanced race car, he blasted through Christopher Bell by Lap 352 and set his sights on leader Chase Briscoe.
Over the final 15 laps of the race, Busch kept the pressure on the Stewart-Haas Racing driver. One lap high, one lap low, Busch did everything he could to find Briscoe’s weakness.
Coming to the white flag, Briscoe grazed the Turn 4 wall, giving Busch an opportunity to make a last lap move for the win, but Briscoe’s momentum and determination kept the No. 8 Chevrolet at bay with Busch being forced to settle for second, 0.361-seconds behind Briscoe score his second career NASCAR Cup Series race.
After the race, Busch thought the couple lap tire advantage would be enough to score his 64th career Cup Series win.
“Yeah, I did,” said Busch. “When I made it through a few of those guys right there on the start, I thought we had a start to get there. I think I just needed him to have maybe three or four more laps and older tires for me to be able to break through the wake.
“Once I got within his air, I really didn’t have enough to power through that, to get closer. I was kind of sliding already.”
Even in defeat, Busch was appreciative of his Richard Childress Racing team.
“Hate it for our guys, everybody on our team, everybody at RCR,” added Busch. “This Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet, they turned it around these last four, five weeks and we’ve run a lot better.
That’s been much improved, beneficial to our team and the organization.”
Busch further explained that his team’s inconsistencies, especially earlier in the year, hindered his opportunity to be in contention to win more often. However, after continuing to overachieve over the last month, Busch is hopeful for the remainder of the season.
“Something to build on and get better for,” explained Busch. “We just missed a lot in the early part of the year, through the middle part of the year, to put ourselves in this spot, to be on the outside looking in. To come in here for a last-ditch effort and have a shot. Early in the race, I wouldn’t have thought we had a shot.
“So felt like we really overachieved towards the end and got a really good finish for what we had or what I thought we had. We’ll take that and keep building on it.”
Sunday’s result will mark the first time that Busch has not been a part of the Cup Series elimination-style playoffs, which debuted in 2014.
Busch will fail to vie for a championship run for just the second time in his Cup Series, missing the opportunity during his rookie season in 2005.
Still, the Las Vegas, Nev. native has 10 races to extend his Cup Series winning streak to 20 consecutive years. Based on the performance of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team since returning from the Olympic break in early August, Busch has tallied an average finish of fifth.
“I wanted it last week. I wanted it this week,” sounded Busch. “I wanted it in Atlanta. I wanted it in Vegas. There’s been a lot of opportunities. Daytona 500 we were up front all day. I can count ’em at least on a hand. Maybe I need two hands to count opportunities that have slipped away.
“We’re achieving right now and getting success from those runs and pulling into finishes that we need.
“Maybe I am a washed-up old dog, but hopefully, I can find a few more trophies.”
Follow Chris Knight on X (Twitter) @Knighter01 or email at cknight@catchfence.com.
