Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain are both drivers for Chevrolet, and both are in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup playoffs. However, the two both find themselves below the cutoff heading to the final race of the round after troubles at Talladega.
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Busch and Chastain got caught up in a mess on the final lap of Stage 1 on Sunday. Busch was stuck behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. when his car started to struggle because of a fuel issue, forcing Busch into the wall to avoid Stenhouse Jr. Trying to scoot past, Chastain got tagged by Busch and ended up out of the race.
There weren't any issues between the two drivers before the incident, but Busch was apologetic toward Chastain in a post-race interview with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass about the situation.
Kyle Busch on the incident at the end of the opening stage when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran out of gas and then at the end of the race how “my chess match is apparently horrible or I get hung out every time it comes down to the end.” pic.twitter.com/wwu0Sj1YvF
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 2, 2023
"I would suspect he [Ricky Stenhouse Jr.] ran out of fuel and I was stuck behind him, and he never waved," Busch said. "It was really late by the time I pulled out, tried to pull out as smooth and as slow as I could, and caught the 1 [Chastain]. So, I hate it for the 1 and those guys. It's what happens every time at the end of a stage."
Both Busch and Chastain will have work to do when they get to the Charlotte Roval this weekend to advance to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff Round of 8, as both are below the cut line. Even with Chastain finishing second to last after Kevin Harvick's disqualification, he sits in a better situation than Busch when it comes to the point margin below the cut line. Busch likely will have to win this weekend, while Chastain can still make the Round of 8 on points.
It will be interesting to see if Chastain holds a grudge against Busch, because he has had plenty of history with other top drivers in the sport.
