Kyle Busch Toyota engine failed him on Lap 269 at Bristol Motor Speedway, sending the No. 18 JGR car behind the wall and eventually ending his odds to advance in the next round of the Cup Series Playoffs.
Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick were all eliminated from the Cup Series playoffs as the field was cut from 16 to 12 ahead of the second round.
The day could have turned out differently for Kyle Busch if 23Xi Racing Bubba Wallace did not return to the track after encountering a steering wheel issue, Busch could have gotten more points which would possibly send him into the next round.
“There were opportunities on the table for him to stay ” – Kyle Busch wanted out says Toyota chief
Former Hendrick Motorsports Crew Chief, Steve Letarte is convinced that Bubba Wallace could have assisted Kyle Busch by not attempting too hard and instead gifting him a point.
The one that kind of scratched my brain. The thing I couldn’t get around was the #45. I know the 23XI is not Joe Gibbs Racing, but he has a Toyota car that has had a steering failure.He Said.
I am not a big fan of team orders, I like to see race car drivers race for wins. But I thought that was a very easy point that 23XI could have gifted the #18 of Kyle Busch by just not going through all this work.”
Steve Letarterecommended Wallace to; “Just beat traffic. Just go home. Help your teammate over the Toyota camp out.” referring to Kyle Busch.
23XI Racing President fires back at NASCAR fans via Twitter.
Dude, ya'll were locked with a win. I'm not a Kyle Busch fan by any means, but that was low, lol. There was iterally no need for the 45 or 23 to be out there after their issues. Fans know what it was, pretty sure the announcers in the booth knew it too from–
— HendrickFan9 (@chaoticgod95) September 18, 2022
“Joe Gibbs does not run @23XIRacing,” he replied. “We do and while in an Owners Championship fight we gonna take points from anyone we can with the 45 while the 23 finished behind the 18 so there’s that.”
President Steve Lauletta also suggested, the No. 45 car, which Bubba Wallace took over for Kurt Busch last month, is still in the battle for the owners’ championship points.