Winless Kyle Busch’s Daytona 500 Hopes Heavily Jeopardized by RCR’s Colossal Mistake

Published 02/20/2024, 7:28 AM HKT

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USA Today via Reuters

Despite finishing strong after stage 1 at the Daytona 500, Kyle Busch will now be up against the odds as he has been dropped to the tail end of the pack due to a safety violation. One of the RCR pit crew members had an abrupt fall on the pit road, thus handing Busch and his No. 8 team a penalty.

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The safety guidelines are well put out by NASCAR, and this particular mistake by the RCR pit crew could cost Busch dearly. Not to forget, he is already running this race in a backup car after his primary race car was involved in a wreck during the duel qualifying races. Already running on reserves, this penalty does add a big blow to Busch and his hopes for his first-ever Daytona 500 win.

Busch’s pit road troubles at Daytona 500

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Running his 20th Daytona 500 race, Kyle Busch has not had the greatest start to the race. To add to his troubles, he was penalized by the officials after one of the pit crew members took a stumble over the safety line. Starting stage 2 of the race all the way from the back and having a shot at winning will be a big ask, even for someone like Rowdy.

While Busch was confident racing in his backup car for the race after the crash at Duels, his worst fears have come true. Driving his way back up the grid and among the front runners, the No. 8 car also suffered more problems. Coming off the pit road, Busch had a loose left tire, and he did all he could to avoid yet another penalty in the race.

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Had the tire come off completely off the wheel, he would have been handed another penalty by the officials. Fortunately for him, he managed to steer the car back into the pit and have the tires changed. In doing so, he did lose out on the lap time, but started in the #30 spot.

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Despite all the chaos and mishaps surrounding him and his car, Kyle Busch has managed to keep his cool and is still in the fight to win his Daytona 500.

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Rowdy focused on his mission despite the blows

Going into the third and final stage of the race at Daytona International Speedway, Busch has found his rhythm back after early stumbles. A penalty and a loose tire surely did not alter his plans to go out and fight for his long-awaited Daytona 500 trophy. With the final 30 laps of the race, this could be anyone’s race.

USA Today via Reuters

However, he will have a tough fight alongside RFK’s Brad Keselowski, who himself is eyeing to break his Daytona 500 duck. Surprisingly, David Ragan has also sprung into life and seems to be working in tandem with his teammate Keselowski. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are also worthy contenders going into the climax of the race.

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Written by:

Chintan Devgania

247Articles

One take at a time

Chintan Mahesh Devgania is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As someone who likes to dive deep into the sport, he often takes up less explored topics to eventually see them make their way into top stories. His report on Toyota’s young recruit, Jade Avedisian, sharing her thoughts on Late Model Racing, was an example of that.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta

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