Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Opinion: Did Kyle Busch Give Up on His Team in Playoff Race at the Roval?

On a frustrating day where Kyle Busch was three laps off the pace, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing gave up during a red-flag period with under 10 laps left in the race.

Presumably, Busch gave up because he couldn’t gain much in the way of position over the final seven laps of the race, and he is already locked into the next round of the Playoffs. That, and safety crews were taking more time than usual to relay water to the drivers who were waiting in their cars in over 110-degree race cars.

So, really Busch pulling off the track means very little in the way of his standing in the championship battle, but could this latest statement show that perhaps Busch is imploding mentally before the second round of the 2019 Playoffs begin? Will this cause his No. 18 team to give up on their driver, much like he did to them on Sunday at the Roval?

Only time will tell, but a similar incident happened at the end of Busch’s Hendrick Motorsports tenure.

At a race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2007, Busch slammed into Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a restart. Both cars were heavily damaged, Earnhardt’s so much that he was done for the day. However, Busch’s team made repairs and his No. 5 car was ready to return to the track. There was just one problem — Busch had already left the track.

So, the team had Earnhardt finish the race out in the No. 5 car. A year later, Busch was booted from HMS and Earnhardt was part of the team in 2008.

Obviously, Busch has sponsorship backing from M&M’s and he has brought a championship to JGR, but could this be the catalyst of the relationship eventually unraveling?

Again, only time will tell. But it frustration has mounted for Busch as he has gone win-less over the last 15 races. He has gotten testier and testier in post-race interviews through this drought, after winning four of the first 14 races of the season.

Regardless of what happens from here, it was disappointing to see arguably the most talented driver in the garage just give up on Sunday.

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Kyle Weatherman JJ Yeley Jason Miller shove post race fight video 2024 Atlanta NASCAR Xfinity Series
Video: "Next Time You Touch My Racecar" Kyle Weatherman Takes Post-Race Shove After on-Track Incident with Yeley
Screen Shot 2024-03-08 at 9.15
Stewart-Haas Hauler Involved in Multi-Vehicle Accident in Texas; Headed Back to North Carolina
NASCAR TV schedule Saturday March 16 Bristol Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR TV Schedule: Saturday, March 16 at Bristol
2024 NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer point standings
2024 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Point Standings
Hopkins Butcher
Video: Late-Race Battle Ends in Crash, Retaliation at Hickory
Denny Hamlin Jim France NASCAR Team Owners Charter Agreement negotiations
'It's Disappointing': Denny Hamlin on Jim France Declining a Meeting with Cup Series Teams at Daytona

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article