Heavily Favored Busch Comes Up Short at Bristol

After breaking the Sprint Cup qualifying record and securing the pole for the Food City 500, leading Happy Hour practice, and winning the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300, Kyle Busch seemed to be the driver to beat this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch’s previous wins at Bristol include five Sprint Cup races, five Nationwide races, and three Camping World Truck races.  Busch needed no introduction to fans at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” Before pitching the microphone to the side during driver introductions on Sunday, Busch said “I may not be Darrell Waltrip, but I don’t need an introduction!”

Busch led the first 56 laps of the Food City 500 before being penalized on pit road, which landed him in 38th position coming out of one of the many ServiceMaster Clean cautions of the day.

In under 200 laps Busch had battled his way back to the front of the pack.  The last 50 laps had fans on their feet as Busch battled defending series champion, Brad Keselowski, for 2nd place.  After clearing Keselowski, Busch was hoping for a caution going into the final laps to close the gap between him and Kasey Kahne.  Unfortunately for Busch, the race continued under green, and he finished 2nd as Kasey Kahne won his first Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Are you a die-hard NASCAR fan? Follow every lap, every pit stop, every storyline? We're looking for fellow enthusiasts to share insights, race recaps, hot takes, or behind-the-scenes knowledge with our readers. Click Here to apply!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest articles

Ticket sales for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham start this week

The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham is excited to announce that ticket sales for the inaugural race in Markham, Ontario, will officially commence this week.

Ford Racing NASCAR – NASCAR All-Star Race Advance

NASCAR is taking its annual All-Star Race to Dover Motor Speedway for the first time and there will be at least five Ford Racing drivers in the final 26-car, 200 lap segment for Sunday’s scheduled race.

Fleetio Joins 23XI Racing as Primary Partner with Corey Heim for Coca-Cola 600, Bringing...

Fleetio, the leading fleet maintenance and optimization platform, announced today a partnership with 23XI Racing, headlined by Corey Heim, driver of the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE

Jim Dunn Racing – Chicago Advance for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals

The Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK is the sixth event on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race calendar in 2026.

Best New Zealand Online Casinos