Richard Childress Racing had an eventful Cook Out 400, with Austin Dillon winning the race and Kyle Busch causing the big one. Not only did Busch’s car take out Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott, but he also apparently got into Denny Hamlin.
In the “Actions Detrimental” episode recapping the Cook Out 400, Hamlin shared that Busch door-slammed him during one of the cautions when the No. 8 was warming up his tires. Hamlin knows all of the hits are unintentional, but he wondered what’s going on with Busch.
“I was going to text him (Kyle Busch) and say, ‘Are you ok?’. It was so weird. We were under caution and I felt, BOOM, I’m like ‘What the hell?’. I guess he was warming his tires up and he just door-slammed the s*** out of me. He’s hitting everything…He just wiped out a few cars and then the 9 was coming by and he clipped him on the way out.”
Denny Hamlin on Kyle Busch’ door-slamming him at’s incidents at Richmond
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- Denny Hamlin stats (Cup Series): 766 points, 4 wins, 13 top 10s, 11 top 5s, 1 pole, 3 DNFs, 555 laps led, 14.8 average starting position, 13.4 average finishing position
Late in Stage 2 of Saturday night’s race at Richmond Raceway, Briscoe got turned entering Turn 3 due to contact from Busch. The No. 8 car then drove into the No. 19 to get past it. As the multi-car wreck unfolded behind him, Busch came down and unintentionally hooked Chase Elliott, causing the No. 9 car to have a head-on collision with the outside wall. It was Elliott’s first DNF of the season.
“Obviously, I saw them crashing and we were all just stacking up trying to get stopped and then after the wreck was over, I thought we were done wrecking and was just trying to squeak by. Guess somebody didn’t know I was down there. Kyle just didn’t know I was to the left.”
Chase Elliott on the incident with Kyle Busch at Richmond Raceway
Related: Winners, Losers from the Cook Out 400, including Kyle Busch
- Kyle Busch stats (Cup Series): 537 points, 0 wins, 7 top 10s, 2 top 5s, 2 DNFs, 62 laps led, 16.2 average starting position, 17.6 average finishing position
In the same race, Busch was flagged for a speeding penalty that dropped him to the back of the field and put him a lap down. He also had an issue on pit road, getting into an awkward spot in his pit box that forced him to back up to exit.
Busch is now on the verge of going two consecutive regular seasons without a victory, with his last Cup Series win happening on June 4, 2023. He’s also faring poorly in the NASCAR standings this season, dropping even further back as of late with a 20.75 average finishing position in the last four races.
Read More: NASCAR Playoff Picture, see where Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch sit
On the verge of missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year, Busch’s frustrations with the Next Gen car and his winless streak seem to be taking a bit of a toll. At least for RCR, Dillon is delivering wins and has clinched a playoff spot.
