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Kyle Busch's season-long struggles exacerbated by mechanical failure at Iowa
It seems Kyle Busch just isn't meant to have a good run in 2024.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion came into Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 beneath the playoff cutline, but was running inside the top-10 in Stage Three of Sunday's race.
Unfortunately, it all came crashing down in an instant.
A flat tire with 81 laps remaining relegated Busch to the back of the pack before further mechanical issues dropped the No. 8 car to 34th. While Busch was eventually able to rejoin the race – albeit, many laps down – a 35th-place finish was all he was able to muster.
"Every time you turn around, it's something else."@KyleBusch talked to media after suffering a mechanical failure that ended his day early.
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 17, 2024
: @m_massie22 pic.twitter.com/GF987rKBBc
Busch was far from the only driver to suffer from tire issues over the course of Sunday's race, but his poor result in Iowa stings that much more because Busch is in a heated battle to make the postseason. After Iowa, Busch sits 18th in the playoff standings, 31 points behind Bubba Wallace. While 31 points can easily be made up over the course of one race, Busch has only scored 31 or more points five times in the first 17 races of 2024.
The task for Busch over the next nine races is simple: Put together consistent results and a playoff berth should come easily. No disrespect to Chris Buescher or Bubba Wallace, but Busch has proven to be a far more reliable driver under pressure than either of the cars he's trying to knock out of the playoff field.
While Busch may rightfully be worried about defending his 19 year winning streak – he has won at least one race in every Cup Series season of his career to this point – a win will eventually come if he puts himself in position.
Finding speed may be the toughest task on Busch's to-do list for the remainder of the regular season, but it's imperative if he wants to fight for his third championship. The No. 8 team can't afford days like Sunday if they want to be included in the playoffs. They're all out of mulligans.
More must-reads:
- Ryan Blaney staves off challengers for dominant win at Iowa Corn 350
- Struggling Hailie Deegan may not be ready for bright lights of NASCAR
- The 'Daytona 500 winners' quiz
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Corey LaJoie 'frustrated' after fifth-place finish in NASCAR Truck Series race at Michigan
Despite finishing fifth in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start of 2025, Corey LaJoie was still frustrated by what could've been in the closing laps of Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway. A huge crash on the Lap 121 restart put LaJoie on the front row for the first overtime restart of the afternoon. But after two more crashes forced the race into triple-overtime, LaJoie chose to restart not on the front row, but in the outside lane, behind another truck for the final restart of the race. That decision ended up being the death knell for LaJoie, as he was unable to challenge for the win over the final two laps. In his 303rd start across NASCAR's top-three series, LaJoie is still searching for his first win. "I've been so close so many times, I don't count my chickens anymore," LaJoie told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass. "In my case, it's never hatched. I knew we were in the right spot to be. I'm just really frustrated. We say it all the time, winners choose the front row." "We had the chance to choose the front row and we didn't. It seemed like the outside lane always prevailed over the inside lane, and that's what we were going with. But the lane was soft, the push didn't come, and we were kinda stuck in bad air." Still, a top-five finish in his first Truck Series start of the year is a good building block for LaJoie. His next race with Spire Motorsports and the No. 07 team will come at Richmond on Aug. 15. LaJoie will also pilot the No. 07 Chevrolet in the seven races that make up the Truck Series playoffs in an attempt to win the owners championship for Spire. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Pirates' longtime failure can be explained by their new prospect's shocking revelation
It's not just a lack of spending or money that keeps the Pittsburgh Pirates at the bottom of the Major League Baseball standings every year. It's also the fact that they are poorly run. Especially when it comes to player development throughout their own farm system. One of their newest prospects, catcher Rafael Flores, who was just acquired before the trade deadline in the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees, unintentionally gave an example as to one of the flaws with the Pirates. As Flores explained to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, the Yankees' minor league focus is almost entirely on individual player development, while the Pirates — in his early view — seem more focused on team success at the minor league level. He also explained that the Yankees give their catchers every piece of information and data that they possibly can, while the Pirates only give their catchers the information that they specifically ask for. Those are two very eye-opening comparisons, and the first one is by far the most problematic and shows a very serious flaw with the Pirates' approach. The major league team should never, under any circumstances, care about the team success of a minor league team. Those teams do not exist to win games or win championships. They exist as an avenue to teach players how to play professional baseball, develop their skills and get them ready to be contributors for the major league team. Everything else is secondary. Now, Flores has only been in the Pirates system for two weeks. It is possible his initial perception is not the entire reality. But it's still an eye-opening comparison for a player to make when coming over from a completely different — and far more successful — organization. It would also track with a lot of the recent Pirates issues in developing players. They have been awful at developing position players, especially under general manager Ben Cherington, and tend to be slow to promote players through the system. (Paul Skenes was a rare exception to both issues.) It would also make sense that they want their minor league teams to do well. It makes it easy to sell hope to a frustrated fan base. If the major league team is not winning, it is easy for the Pirates to point out the success of their farm teams and say, "see, they are doing well ... there is help on the way" even if it is entirely misleading. The Pirates do have two of the best prospects in baseball in infielder Konnor Griffin and starting pitcher Bubba Chandler, but neither is currently in the major leagues. It remains to be seen if they will develop them into top-tier major leaguers. Recent history suggests the odds are not in their favor. Especially if the team is more concerned about its minor league teams winning games over individual players developing.
Jimmy Garoppolo's pass to Davante Adams draws attention for wrong reasons
Jimmy Garoppolo and Davante Adams have been reunited on the Los Angeles Rams, and the star receiver may have nightmares over one throw that came his way on Thursday. The Rams and New Orleans Saints held a joint training camp practice on Thursday. At one point during an 11-on-11 scrimmage, Garoppolo floated a pass toward Adams into traffic over the middle of the field. Adams did not make the catch, and for good reason. He was between three defenders and was fortunate that hitting was not allowed. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten throttled. It is possible that Garoppolo threw the pass knowing Adams was not going to be hit by a defender. The veteran quarterback would probably think twice about making a throw like that during an actual game — or so Adams hopes. Adams was one of the players featured on the Netflix documentary series "Receivers" last year. During one of the episodes, Adams was shown ranting about Garoppolo when the two were teammates on the Raiders. Adams was heard saying he needed to get out of Las Vegas "before I lose my (expletive) life." The six-time Pro Bowl receiver also said he had "never been hit this many (expletive) times in my career." Garoppolo is now the backup with the Rams and has been taking first-team reps while Matthew Stafford nurses a back injury. Adams said in an interview last month that he loves Garoppolo and chalked any previous issues up to everyone being "pretty miserable" when the Raiders were losing. The Rams are hoping Stafford will be fully healthy by Week 1. If he is not, Garoppolo may have to play. The quarterback had better get those so-called "hospital balls" out of his system in training camp.
Lakers Insider Provides Update on LA’s Pursuit of $87 Million Frontcourt Duo
The Los Angeles Lakers have done all they can to build the best possible team without giving up any of their assets, including their draft capital. More news: Lakers Hiring Former Mavericks Award-Winning Coach The Lakers lost one player to the Houston Rockets, Dorian Finney-Smith, at the start of free agency, but have gained three players, two of whom were off the buyout market. Los Angeles has been methodical in their approach as they prepare for the summers ahead, specfically the summer of 2027. While that is the case, the Lakers were expected to make a big move this offseason. That hasn't and will likely not happen. There were a ton of pieces out there that could have made sense for the Lakers, including a potential trade with one of their rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have pieces that the Lakers could benefit from, including center Robert Williams III. A trade for Williams is not out of the question; however, a trade also involving Matisse Thybulle to go along with Williams may not be an option. According to The Athletic's Dan Woike, a trade for LA centering Williams and Thybulle is not likely. "I have a hard time believing a team that’s so close to the first apron that it can’t currently sign a free agent would gamble on not one, but two guys that have no track record of availability." More news: New Lakers Signing Recalls Moment He First Defended Kobe Bryant in NBA The chances of that happening, according to Woike, are not high. However, those two are the types of players who could make the Lakers legitimate title contenders. The Lakers have had Williams on their radar for what seems like forever. The 27-year-old center is an injury-riddled player, but he is just the type of player the Lakers need. Williams is a defensive-minded player who can protect the rim better than anybody in the league. He was limited to 20 games this past season and has failed to play more than 61 games in his seven-year career. Thybulle falls under the same category, at least that was the case last season. The 28-year-old was limited to 15 games this season, but when he is on the court, he is one of the more tenacious defenders in the league. He's earned two NBA All-Defensive nods while averaging 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. The Lakers could use both Williams and Thybulle, but that seems unlikely as things stand. Latest Lakers News For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.
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