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“I Didn’t Know Where the Crash Was”: Kyle Busch Breaks Down the Late Move Between Ross Chastain and William Byron

Published 04/18/2024, 8:43 PM EDT

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So far in the 2024 NASCAR Cup season, Kyle Busch has endured an up-and-down campaign. He has experienced the highs, like that epic 3-wide Atlanta finish, but there have been just as many lows, like last weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway, where he qualified fairly low. But just to be clear, it wasn’t a dull weekend for Busch by any means.

In the end, Kyle Busch managed to finish P9 on the track for his second Top 10 finish of the season. Of course, the path was not easy majorly because there was a late wreck, which threatened to wipe out many contenders. Busch was lucky to dodge disaster and continue on his merry way. Recently, he revisited the chaotic weekend in Texas and told what was going on in his head while navigating the wreck.

How did Kyle Busch escape the Texas smoke?

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On the Pat McAfee Show, ‘Rowdy’ revealed, “Sometimes, you’re just kind of shooting the gap, and you’re hoping and praying that you watch them fly up out of the screen. The smoke and the direction in which they’re going, hoping they’re not coming back across the racetrack. This past weekend at Texas, William Byron got into Ross Chastain on the final lap, and there was a bunch of smoke.”

“I think we were in 7th or 8th or something like that. We were coming up right behind it and I couldn’t see. I didn’t know where the crash was, and the banking obviously runs down to the left. So you think the guy’s going to slide down that way, but he ended up staying on top right. Made our way through that, didn’t get wrecked in that, and finished in the Top 10.”

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In essence, surviving a wreck in NASCAR is like a lottery. When Byron and Chastain had their wreck, the ensuing smokescreen was a visibility hazard. Especially since many drivers were driving at high speed and were risking wreckage. Kyle Busch was one of them, and he lucked out that there was no car in his trajectory.

The RCR driver lets slip his strategy to retain his crown at the GEICO 500

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Talking about what lies ahead of him this weekend, Kyle Busch may have just given away a winning strategy. Going into the track where he won his second race for RCR last year, Busch said, “You’re going to be in the draft [at Talladega], so when you get in the draft and get behind, guys. If you’re 3–4 rows back, you can start lifting out of the gas, and actually you can save fuel. So when you come to Pit Road for the next pit stop, Your time on the pit road for shorter fuel to get a full tank of fuel is going to be quicker than some of the others further up front, using more gas. That’s a whole strategy for the superspeedways, these big tracks, Talladega, and Daytona.”

We’re all for racing insights, but do you think it was wise for Busch to talk about an important tactic that may just get him his 64th win in the Cup series? Guess we’ll have to wait for Sunday to see how he and the #8 team fare at the superspeedway.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a Senior NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports, with an impressive record of over 14K articles. From F1 driver Pierre Gasly to Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino, Dhruv has interviewed several racers, establishing himself as an authoritative voice in the world of motorsports. He not only writes engaging content but helps connect readers with some of the biggest racing names thanks to his ability to churn out exclusive interviews.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta