Kyle Busch’s Xfinity Series sweep didn’t go as planned.
With a late recovery at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Busch completed a 5-for-5 sweep of what he claims will be his final season in the Xfinity Series.
With a late drive, Busch knocked teammate Daniel Hemric out of the lead. That cast a pall on what otherwise would have been an great way for Busch to say goodbye to NASCAR’s second-tier series.
“It’s not quite the win we were hoping for,” Busch said. “A little bit of a somber win I guess, not just for it being the last one but for the way it kind of happened.”
Busch won his 102nd Xfinity race and 222nd overall in NASCAR’s three national series by 0.550 seconds over Jeb Burton.
With six circuits remaining, Busch took the lead after pushing Hemric on a restart. On the restart, Busch appeared to be trying to offer Hemric, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, a helping hand. Hemric, on the other hand, lost control and crashed against the wall.
“I just wanted to hit him forward and straight but turned him sideways a little bit,” Busch said.
Busch said he plans for this to be his final Xfinity race, though he left room to change his mind.
“Yeah, this is it,” Busch said. “You never say never, but this was the last one, the last scheduled one. We’ll hang it up and do something else on Saturdays.”
Hemric was on the verge of his first career win a week after finishing second to Busch before spinning on a restart when pushed by Busch with six laps to go.
Some will believe Busch wrecked his teammate to clear the way for his sweep-clinching victory, according to Busch.
“People would say I did it on purpose, but why would I need to do it on purpose?” he said. “Kid going for his first win. I’m going for 102. I’ve been there, done that. I don’t need it. It would certainly help him a hell of a lot more than it’s going to help me and give the perception that now I have on that.”
After Busch won the first two stages, Hemric took the lead on the final stage.
In NASCAR’s three national series, Busch has 102 Xfinity victories and 222 overall.
Justin Haley and Ty Dillon were third and fourth, respectively. Hemric came in 30th spot.
Austin Cindric, the Xfinity points leader, finished 10th.
“Unfortunately, that was the position we were in last time we were here and came with a new setup and tried to make things work today and we found ourselves in about the same position or maybe worse,” Cindric said.
As a late fill-in for Michael Annett, who was unable to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet due to a nagging leg injury, Austin Dillon finished 11th. Dillon began at the back of the field.
One of Dillon’s initial radio communications was a question about his spotter and crew chief’s names.
Each year, NASCAR authorizes only five Xfinity and five Truck Series races for Cup Series drivers, including Busch. Atlanta was Busch’s fifth and final Xfinity race of the year, and his fifth victory.
The scattered crowd turnout, according to Busch, proves that NASCAR shouldn’t keep the big names out of the second-tier series.
“I know it’s Atlanta, I know it’s 86 degrees out there but those grandstands didn’t look too good today,” he said. “… Names sell and if you ain’t got names you ain’t selling.”
In Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Busch will start second, behind Chase Elliott, in the final race before the Atlanta Motor Speedway circuit is repaved and remodeled.
About halfway through the last stage, C.J. McLaughlin was forced to give up his 66 Toyota due to the heat. He was taken to the infield care center and treated before being released.
The uniforms of NASCAR racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
