Kyle Busch is out of the 2022 Cup Series race. The two-time Cup Series champion failed to qualify for the Round of 12 at Bristol. Owing to some technical issues and engine failures his #18 Toyota faced during the race, Busch has missed his chances of clinching the third victory of his career.

However, things could have gone differently. If Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bubba Wallace did not return to the track after experiencing a steering wheel issue, Busch could have gotten more points. Hendrick Motorsports legend, Steve Letarte believes that Bubba Wallace could have helped Kyle Busch by not trying too hard and instead gifting him a point.

He said; “The one that kind of scratched my brain. The thing I couldn’t get around was the #45. I know the 23XI is not Joe Gibbs Racing, but he has a Toyota car that has had a steering failure. I am not a big fan of team orders, I like to see race car drivers race for wins. But I thought that was a very easy point that 23XI could have gifted the #18 of Kyle Busch by just not going through all this work.”

Further, Letarte suggested to Wallace; “Just beat traffic. Just go home. Help your teammate over the Toyota camp out.” Apart from Letarte, a few NASCAR fans also shared a similar opinion on Twitter.

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He also claimed that if he was the #18 (Kyle Busch), he would have lost his mind on seeing this. He said that looking at Busch’s season, he deserved to qualify. And said about Wallace; “I am not asking you to fall out. I am not asking you to change your outcome of your race. Just go home. Spare the bad night.”

But was it really that easy for Bubba Wallace to help Kyle Busch?

It is not that simple. If Kyle Busch was fighting to qualify for the playoffs, Bubba Wallace too was fighting for the Ownership Championship. Explaining why 23XI Racing and Bubba Wallace did what they did, Motor Racing’s Todd Gordon said; “I think the caveat here, the #45 is still racing the ownership championship.”

He further explained that although they currently are in a good position, they can’t afford to lose points. he said;  “They have got this win, so, they’re through this round. But you are accumulating the points you want to because at the end of the year if you don’t make the final 4, you’re still racing for fifth.”

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And I think, you are so focused on trying to get every point they can towards advancing as far as they can in the owner’s championship in case they don’t make the finals.