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Kyle Busch. Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Busch says he 'can't afford days like this' after crash at Gateway

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 3, 2024 11:33 PM ET

Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway was viewed by many as Kyle Busch's best chance to clinch a playoff berth. After crashing out of the race on Lap 140, his playoff hopes continue to grow dimmer.

Busch was racing fellow competitor Kyle Larson for seventh on the final lap of Stage 2 when Larson, forced into a shallow corner entry by Busch, got loose, sending both drivers into the outside wall.

While Larson escaped with little damage and rebounded to finish 10th, the No. 8 car was totaled, relegating Busch to a 35th place finish and sending Richard Childress home with a mangled hunk of sheet metal.

Busch was blunt in his answers when asked about the incident outside the infield care center.

"Looked like he got loose, I guess," Busch said when asked about the contact between himself and Larson. "He was on older tires and trying to get us for a spot. Not sure what that single point was going to mean for him, but it certainly hurt us a lot. It took that point away as well as the others we can get for the stage and for the rest of the day. Very frustrating. We can't afford days like that."

Kyle Busch said he and the No. 8 team "can't afford days like this" after his crash with Kyle Larson. pic.twitter.com/jFmOYUnwuX
— Samuel Stubbs (@SamMageeStubbs) June 2, 2024

Busch said that while his car was fast on Sunday, it wasn't up to par with his winning entry from 2023.

"The Rebel (Bourbon) Camaro wasn't what it was last year, but it was a top-10 car, and we were going to finish there. But we're not going to finish at all."

Sunday's crash is the the latest setback in a season full of them for Busch and the No. 8 team, who has struggled to find consistent speed. In 15 races this season, Busch has only five top 10's and two top fives, numbers that pale in comparison to 2023, when he won thrice in the first 15 races, including Gateway.

While Busch did collect back-to-back top 10 efforts for the first time all season at Dover and Kansas, respectively, he followed up those performances with finishes of 27th and 15th at Darlington and Charlotte, and fell back to 19th in the playoff standings after Sunday's race.

Busch currently sits 20 points outside of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and there are no more mulligans to be had for a race team struggling to keep touch with the playoff bubble.

Busch is right — the No. 8 team can't afford days like Sunday, and if even one more untimely incident occurs, it could force Busch to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

If Busch were to miss NASCAR's postseason this year, he would do so for just the fourth time in his 20-year Cup Series career.

All quotations were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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