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Kyle Busch airs it out after shipping teammate Jesse Love in final corner of NASCAR Cup Series COTA race

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Brian Jones | Last updated Mar 2, 2026 1:32 AM ET

Kyle Busch did not hold back when speaking to his team about shipping Jesse Love during the NASCAR Cup Series COTA on Sunday. Motorsports reporter Steven Taranto shared a video of Busch’s in-car camera that showed the veteran driver battling Love. As Taranto said, it appeared that “Love ran Busch really hard despite the 8 car running the 33 down multiple times.” That eventually led to Busch shipping Love into the final corner.

“Go back and f***ing watch the last five laps, tell me that wasn’t f***ing coming!” Kyle Busch said on his radio. The interesting thing about this is that Busch and Jesse Love drive for Richard Childress Racing. But it turned out to be an effective move for Busch, earning a P12 finish after starting 30th. As for Love, he finished in the same spot he started, which was 27th.

Let's go see what got Kyle Busch so fed up with Jesse Love

Looked like Love ran Busch really hard despite the 8 car running the 33 down multiple times. Eventually Busch lost patience and shipped the 33 into the final corner (with bystander Chris Buescher paying the price) https://t.co/aqofcjuoBk pic.twitter.com/7an2i3qOQX
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 2, 2026

Love might be upset with what Busch did to him, but he only competes in the Cup Series on a part-time basis. And it was still a strong weekend for the 21-year-old, finishing fourth at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series COTA race on Saturday.

More on Kyle Busch and Jesse Love

“Jesse Love is a talented racer who has consistently proven himself with strong on-track performance and an off-track demeanor that appeals to fans and partners,” RCR president Mike Verlander said in February. “We’re proud of his development. We look forward to helping him compete at the highest levels of our sport.”

Love has a bright future ahead of him, while Busch is looking to earn more wins as his career winds down. Busch hasn’t won a race since the 2023 season, but the start of the 2026 season has been solid for him. Despite finishing 34th at Atlanta last week, Busch started the year with a P15 finish at the Daytona 500. Additionally, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is competing in some Truck Series races this season and won the Atlanta race last weekend.

“It got dicey there at the end,” Busch said after the Atlanta Truck Series race, per NASCAR.com. “Certainly, a great race, and it got exciting there at the end.

“Had a great teammate [Carson Hocevar] behind me and have to give credit where credit is due. Early on was a little worried he wasn’t helping, but there at the end, he was right there … definitely made it a whole lot easier.”

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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