It was a case of ‘what could have been’ for the No. 51 driver of the Cessna Kyle Busch Motorsports machine. Busch was looking to tie Ron Hornaday Jr.’s all-time winning streak Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, the Las Vegas native will have to wait for another race.
After starting fourth in the NC Education Lottery 200, Busch remained in the top 10 in both stages finishing sixth and second, respectively. While he was strong throughout the stages, it was the pit stops that ultimately cost him a shot at winning.
“Pure talent, Busch said. “That’s about it. My pit crew did absolutely nothing to help me out tonight. My truck drove like crap. These splitters are absolutely horrendous. You can’t pass in traffic.”
Busch suffered two pit road penalties for his crew being over the wall too soon. At the end of the day, he finished in the second position behind race winner Johnny Sauter. Busch will have to wait another day to earn career win number 51.
“You can’t race alongside anybody,” Busch added. “You can get within five truck-lengths of no one. But somehow, someway, I was able to get back to the front. Had a blast.”
By finishing second, he earned his third top five of the year. He will have three more opportunities in 2018 to tie or surpass Hornaday’s record.
