Before the Round of 12 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs began, Kyle Busch predicted he would be eliminated in this round. Of course, he said that in the heat of the moment, which he later admitted, but Busch said that for a reason.

Moments after his playoff hopes ended at the Charlotte Roval on Sunday, Busch said that his prediction was correct. “I knew this round was going to be trouble with the year that we had and yeah, I was right,” Busch said on the track after a 30th place finish.

The reigning champion ended that low in the final standings for the race after running in the top-10 for most of the race. He even led the race at one point. Busch threw light on what went wrong for him this year.

Kyle Busch reflects on his season after elimination

Busch said, “Been unfortunate circumstances, a lot of bad luck. One of them off years, terrible year for me. As other sports greats would say, ‘There’s many other drivers that would love to have the year we’re having’.”

He also said not being able to win hurt him a lot. Knowing his abilities, this elimination is harder to take.

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“It’s just frustrating to know how good we are and what we’re capable of. Being champions from last year, to not come out here and be able to succeed, to be able to win. The fact of the matter you know, we win and we’d be a hell of a lot better off,” Busch continued.

Busch feels he did not have a winning car

With around 20-odd laps to go, Busch decided not to pit while most other drivers did. He eventually ran out of fuel on old tires with three laps to go. Busch still feels his car was not competitive enough for the win.

“No, we probably would have been 3rd or 4th, somewhere in there. The 9 was stellar, they got the best car here. We got a lot closer this year than we were last year.”

The No. 18 car driver admitted that he still has a lot of work to do to get better.

With the elimination, Busch becomes the first defending champion to be knocked out before the Round of 8. This is since the playoff system began in 2014.

Reigning Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch Knocked Out of 2020 NASCAR Playoff Race Despite Tough Fight