After losing the lead late in yesterday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it was clear that Vegas native Kyle Busch was not a happy camper.
The outcome of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 for the Sprint Cup Series probably won’t make him feel any better. The “Rowdy” One charged back from a slow first stop to be a threat throughout the race’s middle stages but then faded late to an 11th place finish.
Kyle was to take two tires on his first stop after a Lap 18 caution but as he was about to make his way out of his pit box, Michael McDowell suddenly entered the box ahead of him and blocked him in.
That led the team to call an audible and have Kyle back up so they can go with four tires and make additional adjustments to the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
The decision tossed Kyle all the way back to 41st for the subsequent restart, but he was already back in the Top 20 in less than 20 green-flag laps. He continued to race all the way into the Top 5 and on Lap 76, he dispatched Jimmie Johnson to take the lead.
Busch pitted under green from the lead on Lap 97 but got P1 back when the cycle played out. However, Kevin Harvick was able to take the point away just before the halfway park at Lap 134. Still, the No. 18 stayed around the Top 5 up to the final restart of the day with 42 laps to go.
Unfortunately for Kyle, he was unable to keep up with the leaders in the last dash to the finish.
“The car was too loose on the first run and we tightened it up and it was really fast for awhile,” he said. “But, we kept adjusting on it to try and help the tight in the center of the corner and it was just getting looser and looser, especially on the last run. Just disappointing when we looked like we had a good car earlier in the race.”
He later summed up the day on his Twitter page:
But at least Kyle was able to get 52 laps at the front of the field, while his older brother Kurt never saw the front at all. He was never able to break out of mid-pack and went a lap down to the leaders shortly before the halfway mark.
He would eventually lose three laps by the time he took the checkered flag in 26th position, continuing what has been a tough start results-wise for him with his new team, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Altogether, it was a bad day for SHR, which was led by Danica Patrick in 21st. Harvick’s bid for back-to-back wins was dashed by a wheel hub failure, while co-owner/driver Tony Stewart finished 33rd at four laps down.