By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway saw something that’s proven rare in the series over the past decade: Kyle Busch appearing human.
Busch struggled from the drop of the green flag and failed to lead a lap in the Boyd Gaming 300, a race which saw him finish 14th and lose out on the opportunity to complete the first tripleheader weekend sweep in Las Vegas after he claimed Friday’s Camping World Truck Series race.
“We were just off the whole race,” Busch said afterward. “Our Interstate Batteries Camry was just way too loose and we burned the rear tires off it halfway through every run. We’ll go back and talk about it and try to figure out what went wrong.”
The Nevadan appeared to be in contention in the early moments of the race, qualifying fifth and rising to fourth by the end of Stage 1. But as the race went on Busch only drifted back, finishing 10th after a pit stop issue in Stage 2 and dropping outside of the top 10 over the race’s final stage.
The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s only moment of note in the Xfinity race came in a battle with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Brandon Jones. The two collided while fighting for position on the frontstretch, leading Busch to make a gesture out of his window at the team newcomer when they got around to the backstretch.
Wild Wild West. 🤠#NASCARGoesWest pic.twitter.com/xMiYAtJbtw
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) March 3, 2018
Both drivers continued on without further issue after the incident. Jones went on to finish seventh, earning his best finish on an intermediate track in nearly two years.
Busch’s poor run continued into the late stages of the race, prompting his JGR team to have Busch bring his No. 18 Toyota to pit road for fresh tires and fuel in an effort to short-pit and gain time. But the move backfired when Busch’s pit crew was issued a penalty for improper fueling after his fuel man stopped a tire with his hands. The veteran was forced to complete a pass-through penalty, eliminating him from contention.
A pair of cautions in the final 20 laps allowed Busch to gain his lap back and close up on the field, but in the end the 32-year-old proved unable to mount a charge. He slotted in 14th as the checkered flag flew, a subpar end to what proved to be a race memorable only for how far removed it was from the veteran’s standard series dominance
There’ll be little time for Busch to dwell on the run. He’ll return to Las Vegas on Sunday with the Cup Series to compete in the Pennzoil 400.