Busch restarted ninth with just 17 laps to go at Darlington, quickly rocketed up through the field on slightly fresher rubber. It was a heroic drive from the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who is facing his first winless season since joining the Cup season full-time in 2005.
It took him only two laps to cut a path up into second-place with another must-win driver just ahead of him -- Chase Briscoe. They were all over the track as the tires aged, and Busch desperately searched for clean air. He closed in, but never quite got alongside, finishing second to yet another surprise winner in back-to-back weeks. His 2024 playoff run is over before it even got the chance to begin.
"When I made it through a few of those guys right there on the start, I thought we had a start to get there," said Busch, believing he had enough life in the tires to overtake Briscoe. "I think I just needed him to have maybe three or four more laps, older tires for me to be able to break through the wake. Once I got within his air, I really didn't have enough to power through that, to get closer. I was kind of sliding already.
"Hate it for our guys, everybody on our team, everybody at RCR. They turned it around these last four, five weeks and we've run a lot better. That's been much improved, beneficial to our team and the organization."
Busch applauded the team for improvements made throughout the race, commenting that "we really overachieved towards the end." It's something to build off of after a dismal year for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. They've seemed to turn it around in recent weeks, but it was simply too little, too late.
Missed opportunities
He was left to ponder all the moments where the checkered flag slipped through his fingers. Notably, back in March, he was the middle car in a three-wide photo at Atlanta, missing out on the victory by mere inches.
"I wanted it last week. I wanted it this week. I wanted it in Atlanta. I wanted it in Vegas. There's been a lot of opportunities. Daytona 500 we were up front all day. I can count 'em at least on a hand. Maybe I need two hands to count opportunities that have slipped away."
Now, the veteran driver will have ten weeks to keep his record streak of 19 consecutive seasons with a Cup win alive.
