Kyle Busch frustrated despite Top-5 finish - MotorSportsTalk

With the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup now down to its final five races after last night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch knows that time is running out.

Busch finished fifth in the race, but was unable to gain ground in the points standings; in fact, he lost two more points to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth (who finished third) and now sits 37 points behind him in fifth place. And after crashing out at Kansas Speedway last weekend, Busch knows that finishing behind his main rivals in the championship won’t do anymore.

“We should be happy about [a Top-5], but when it’s championship time, that’s not what you need – we need wins and we can’t win,” Busch said. “…We’re not good enough. It’s frustrating, man. I’m beating myself up every week trying to figure out what I got to do to be better, and I don’t know what it is. I work hard through practice. I work hard through the week. I study film. I do everything I need to do — but it’s not paying off.

“We probably would have run third tonight without that last caution [with 28 laps to go]. We would have made up some points on some guys. Instead, we got beat by all the guys that we’re racing essentially…We need to win races and we’re not capable of doing that right now.”

Busch got into early trouble during his first pit stop of the night under yellow. A miscue by his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team forced Busch to make a second stop and tossed him all the way to the rear of the field.

Undeterred, Busch roared back to the front and cracked the Top 5 before the midway mark. He was able to stay up in the lead pack for the remainder of the night despite apparent engine woes in the final laps; Busch thought at one point that the engine might be blowing up, but the team eventually figured the issue was due to burning too much fuel.

In any other situation, a Top-5 would be considered a good night, especially after Busch was able to cut through the field and get in contention again. But in the thick of a championship fight, “Rowdy” wanted – and needed – more.

“They say you need Top-5s to win a championship, but when you’re getting beat by the guys in front of you, then we’re just not good enough – flat-out,” he said. “I don’t know what to do to be better.

“It’s frustrating, but you know, I should be happy with a fifth, but we’re not. I’m not.”

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”