Kyle Busch rips ‘disgraceful’ fuel-saving strategy from Daytona 500

Last week, the first stage of the Daytona 500 was slow and paced out, and it was, according to Kyle Busch “disgraceful.” Everyone went into the NASCAR race and decided that fuel-saving was the best way to go, but it was a bore.

Superspeedway racing, especially at the Daytona 500 should be pedal to the metal! Put it on the floor and turn left. Give the fans an exciting race. Instead, we got a parade at 175 MPH.

This week, ahead of another drafting track at Atlanta, Kyle Busch addressed the racing situation. He was not happy with it, at all.

“The start of the race last week for the Daytona 500 we’re sitting around there running half throttle,” Busch said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “Not passing, just riding in a line. I felt disgraceful myself being a race car driver, wanting to go fast and lead laps and win the Daytona 500 and that was our strategy that we had to employ because everybody is doing it.

“The pace, when you’re running wide open and you’re in the draft your pace is probably a 46.30, we were running 49.80s, almost 50-second lap times. It was pathetic, I was like ‘How slow are we gonna go?’ I felt bad for the fans, I was like ‘This is not good for them.’ It’s not what I want to be doing, but when you get in that situation you can’t, I don’t know what to do.

“A third lane could have developed, it was so early in the race no one wants to develop a third lane, we’re riding. It’s a 500-mile race don’t blow everything up in the first stage, right? But somebody could have just pulled out into the outside lane and literally just ran to the front and do whatever the heck they want to do. So, I was surprised nobody did that.”