Kyle Busch drives half a lap in reverse after spinning out at Coca-Cola 600
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch paid homage to the great Ricky Bobby during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Monday.
In Busch’s case, he wasn’t doing it in hopes of winning a race, but rather preserving his No. 8 Chevrolet after going for a spin in Stage 2. Busch drove a half a lap in reverse after the spin despite his team urging him to whip it around to avoid losing a lap. Busch, worried he would tear up the underbody of the car if he did, continued in reverse.
“Gotta find a flat spot so you don’t f—— kill everything. Hold on!” Busch told his team, per Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.
The passionate Busch likely won’t get a kick out of the Ricky Bobby comparisons given his competitiveness on the racetrack. Busch entered the Coca-Cola 600 coming off the toughest stretch of his 2023 season, in which he recorded finishes of P21, P35, P7 as well as a P22 result in All-Star race following his second win of the season at Talladega.
Kyle Busch loves Coca-Cola 600
Busch, who won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2018, said this week that he loves this race.
“I love this race,” Busch said, via The Charlotte Observer. “… Remember watching this race as a kid when I was growing up. I may or may not have fallen asleep. It’s just really long. But it’s got the history of 600 miles and man vs. machine and all that sort of stuff. So equipment in this day and age is a lot different than the equipment used to be.”
“There’s been a couple times here where you get to mile marker 500 and you’re like, ‘Damn, there’s still 100 more miles to go.’ It’ll wear on you, for sure, if you’re not made for it or ready for it. But this place is really rough over the years, and has gotten a lot of character back into it since the repave in 2006. It’s pretty rough and bumpy, so the 600 miles around here will definitely wear on you.”
Busch has battled back from the spin, sitting P8 with just over 100 laps remaining.