Kyle Busch pinpoints troubling issues after rough weekend at Iowa

Despite a busy weekend full of hard work, NASCAR star Kyle Busch had nothing to show for it coming away from Iowa Speedway.

After displaying strong pace early in practice on Saturday, things quickly unravelled for the two-time Cup Series champion, crashing his No. 8 Chevrolet into the wall and causing so much damage that he was forced to use a backup car for Sunday's race.

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Jumping in the backup also meant starting at the very rear of the field for the Iowa Corn 350, and although some great strategy calls saw him finish the second stage up in fifth, Busch eventually came home in 20th position.

Speaking post-race, Busch outlined some of the frustrating issues that he was having with his car throughout, admitting that despite 'busting their behinds' his team simply did not have enough.

"We started the weekend in a deficit after going to a backup car on Saturday, and spent most of the day Sunday just battling for track position in our Chevrolet," the Richard Childress Racing driver explained.

"Crew chief Randall Burnett made some race strategy calls that got us into the top 10 and earned us some stage points, but we lost that track position in Stage 3 and struggled to return to the front.

"Our Chevy couldn’t turn in traffic, even with the freshest tires and dirty air didn’t help. We busted our behinds out there today, but didn’t have enough.”

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Busch playoff hopes dwindling

As a result of his Sunday, Busch did make up small ground in his quest for a playoff spot in 2025.

However, the Richard Childress Racing driver still trails Chris Buescher, who occupies the last playoff spot at present, by 73 points, which, with three races to go, is a big deficit to overcome.

Of course, Busch can lock himself into the playoffs with a victory over those final three races, with events at Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona to come.

Here is how the full playoff picture looks at present:

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