Busch Finishes P9 at Homestead

Date: Oct. 23, 2022

Event: Dixie Vodka 400 (Round 34 of 36)

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 11th/9th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 14th with 2,186 points

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)        

Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)        

Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)        

Notes:

● Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 SKITTLES Lime is Back Toyota Camry, finished ninth in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway

● Busch started 11th, but had an ill-handling car to start the race, telling interim crew chief Seth Chavka that his car had to grip and felt like he was on ice, as he fell to as low as 22nd and eventually working his way up to 19th by the end of Stage 1.

● The two-time Cup Series champion moved himself up to as high as 12th by the end of Stage 2.

●The SKITTLES Lime is Back driver came in to pit on lap 166 following Stage 2, taking on four tires and adjustments where he restarted the final stage in the 10th position.

● Busch radioed to Chavka shortly after the restart to begin the final stage that the adjustments made the car worse, as it had developed a very tight handling condition, dropping him to 15th by lap 200.

● Over the course of two caution and two pit stops, Busch restarted 7th on the final restart with 17 laps to go.

● Busch fought hard with a tight-handling race car, but still managed to bring home a top-10 finish.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 SKITTLES Lime is Back Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

“We had a hard fought day with our SKITTLES Lime is Back Camry TRD. We started off the race feeling like the car was on ice and the guys were able to get it better. But at the end we were just too tight. We never gave up all race long and ended up with a top-10.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Oct. 30, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.