Kyle Busch Blames Joey Logano for Daytona 500 Misfortune

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch expressed discontent following the Daytona 500 on Sunday, directing his frustration toward fellow driver Joey Logano and NASCAR officials. The two-time Cup Series champion, who finished 34th in the season opener, cited a multi-car wreck that disrupted his race strategy.

Busch, driver of the No. 8 car for Richard Childress Racing, has not won at Daytona throughout his illustrious career. He faced a challenging 2024 season, going winless and missing the playoffs, marking the end of a 19-season streak of winning at least one race each year. “Looks like the fastest car got in a hurry to get to the wreck,” Busch said, referring to Logano’s involvement in the crash.

Further complicating matters, Busch criticized NASCAR’s handling of his damaged vehicle. He took issue with the officials after they parked his car, stating, “Rule says you have 3 attempts to make minimum speed. The race never went back green yet. I don’t even think they know their own rules or procedures.”

In response to Busch’s comments, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer addressed the situation during an appearance on SiriusXM Radio’s The Morning Drive. “I think it was a misunderstanding on Kyle’s perspective,” Sawyer said. He clarified that the damaged vehicle policy (DVP) had only one slight change this season, increasing the allowed time for repairs from six to seven minutes.

Additionally, Sawyer explained the DVP rules regarding vehicles that can’t drive away from the scene of an incident. “Once you go to the garage, you’re going to get one opportunity to leave the garage and go on the racetrack,” he said. “Once you do that, then you’re going to be eliminated from the event.” This rule, he noted, aims to prevent drivers from circumventing the intended purpose of DVP by repeatedly entering and exiting the garage.

“We had multiple meetings in the offseason with the teams and the drivers. Multiple drivers came by throughout the week and had questions about the policy to ensure clarity,” Sawyer stated. He expressed sympathy for Busch and the RCR team, recognizing that they had a competitive car.

This coming week, the Cup Series teams will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400. Busch has previously found success at the track, recording two Cup Series victories, although his last win came in 2013. Notably, he has achieved four consecutive top-ten finishes there.