Busch ousted from playoffs
Defending champion 30th in must-win race; Elliott onto round of 8
Concord, N.C. Kyle Busch, leading a race he had to win, not once believed he was driving toward victory lane.
NASCAR will crown a new champion this year as the worst season of Busch’s career extended Sunday when he was knocked from the playoffs. It’s the earliest the reigning Cup champion has been eliminated since the format debuted in 2014.
Chase Elliott won on the hybrid road course-oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch and three others were trimmed from title contention. It was Elliott’s fourth straight road course victory.
Busch needed his first win of the season to move into the round of eight and that was a tall task in this bumpy year for Busch. He seemed good as done when a flat tire at the end of the
second stage should have ended his chances.
He sounded resigned when over his mic he said, “Good job this year, guys,” to his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing crew. But Busch worked his way back into the top three and took the lead when he gambled and didn’t pit under caution.
Busch led just one lap after the restart before both teammate Erik Jones and Elliott passed him and then his Toyota began to fade. Busch finished 30th. There are only four races left for him to extend his streak to 16 straight seasons with at least one win, and Busch failed to advance to the final four for the first time since 2015.
Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola also were eliminated.
Elliott, meanwhile, won for the second consecutive year at “The Roval” and third time this season. It’s his second win this season at Charlotte.
Elliott will try to take that momentum into the round of eight, which he advanced to for the fourth-straight year. Also advancing were Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman.
Formula One: Lewis Hamilton matched Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins in Formula One with a victory in the Eifel Grand Prix. Max Verstappen was second. Daniel Ricciardo was third in Renault’s first podium finish since 2011. Another record fell as Kimi Raikkonen started his 323rd race, beating the mark set by Rubens Barrichello from 1993 through 2011.