Kyle Busch achieved his third consecutive top-three finish at the LA Clash on Saturday. The start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup season was moved up due to anticipated dangerous weather in Los Angeles. Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver emerged victorious, fending off his former teammate who was behind the wheel of the No:8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 from RCR.
This win allowed Hamlin to etch his name in NASCAR history, becoming the second most successful Clash driver with four wins in 2024. Unfortunately for Busch, this marks the third year in a row that he has fallen short of victory, finishing within the top three since the inaugural LA event. He secured second place in 2022, third place in 2023, and second place once again this season.
Coming in second place can be incredibly frustrating for racers, serving as a constant reminder of how close they were to claiming the win. Busch openly expressed his disappointment and acknowledged the sting of this ongoing streak of second-place finishes. He drew parallels to his past experiences in late model racing, where he felt similar emotions.
Reflecting on the race, Busch highlighted that with a few more laps, he believes he could have emerged as the victor. He noted that he would have had the opportunity to overtake the race leader and make up for his loss of momentum when he was unable to capitalize on the poor corner exit of the No:11 Camry.
“I got to his side off of middle of (Turn) 2, but I just never had any acceleration off the corners. I could not get my forward momentum started. So that was kind of my hindrance. As bad as (Hamlin) was on entry, I was as bad on exit…If we could have had three, four more laps or whatever, I felt like I would have had enough to be able to get close enough to make a move.”
Busch has kicked off the 2024 season similarly to the previous year and hopes to maintain the impressive performance he displayed last season. He also hopes to avoid peaking too early, as inconsistency plagued their team towards the end of the year.
