Denny Hamlin reacts to Kyle Busch 'mistake' at Kansas

Kyle Busch seemed primed to fight for the win at Kansas over the weekend, but the veteran wheelman lost control of his car and spun while trying to lap Chase Briscoe with 32 laps left in the race.

On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin tried to make sense of Busch’s move, and whether the No. 8 driver made a mistake while pining for his first win of 2024, which would’ve extended his streak of winning in consecutive NASCAR Cup seasons to 20.

“It was going to be, at the end, like five or six cars, all battling for this race win. But unfortunately, Kyle stepped on it, as we like to say in our business, and spun out,” Hamlin explained, regarding Busch’s spin. “… He put himself in a really, really bad aero spot, an aero spot that — I found out at Michigan, you know, when you get to the right side of someone’s right-rear quarter-panel, and you then you get close to the wall, it just takes all your downforce away, and you spin out. It’s just like a pocket of air that just — your car just lifts up and takes off. I think he just put himself in a really, really bad spot by trying to stick it in there, which I understand why he did.

“You know, he’s trying not to get held up by Chase [Briscoe] any longer than he has to, because again, the No. 1, everyone — we can see, I could see even in sixth place or fifth place, I’m running to him quickly, and so he had to, in his mind, make a move to get around this guy as soon as possible, so I can get back to clean air, and then we’ll hopefully get back to the pace that he was, but it just was a real risky move that obviously didn’t pay off.”

Evidently, Hamlin can see why Busch tried to make the move that ruined his afternoon, leading to a P19 finish, but the No. 11 wheelman believes his former teammate should’ve weighed the risk versus reward before doing so. Now, he’s left wondering what could’ve been at Kansas.

In the end, Ross Chastain was victorious, and Kyle Busch will have to try to extend his streak of winning in consecutive NASCAR Cup seasons at a different track. You can add Kansas to the list of what could’ve been for the two-time Cup Series champion, along with Daytona and Darlington in 2024.