BRISTOL, Tenn. — On a night when attrition turned Bristol’s dizzying 500 laps into a series of math equations, and one of the most tense battles for position involved a damaged car on track and one that had been loaded into a team’s hauler, maybe it wasn’t surprising that any playoff driver with connections — past, present and future — to Richard Childress Racing was eliminated from title contention.
Kyle Busch was “flabbergasted” after his second engine failure in this round means he will not win the championship in his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing.
His next title attempt will come in the No. 8 car for Richard Childress Racing in 2023. Tyler Reddick, the current driver of the No.
8, also was eliminated after his car was damaged in a crash and couldn’t gain enough positions. Both Reddick (25th) and Busch (34th) finished two points behind Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric — who overcame multiple tire failures and finished seven laps behind winner Chris Buescher in 20th— to secure the final playoff spot.