“I was convinced we were fine”: Kyle Busch's revelation in the aftermath of his ‘unfortunate’ Las Vegas ordeal

It was yet another lackluster outing on Sunday, March 16, for Kyle Busch at his home turf. The veteran racer battled a loose wheel, a brake line issue, and a pit road penalty en route to a disappointing P33 finish in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The pit road speeding penalty early on in the race bugged the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion the most. Although he thought he had done nothing wrong, NASCAR intervened anyway.

Busch discussed the matter during a post-race interview, saying (as quoted by Speedway Digest):

"Our BetMGM Chevrolet was strong early in the race. We were running up front, about to pit when the caution came out and we inherited the lead. Unfortunate to have been penalized for speeding on pit road. I was convinced we were fine as was Randall (Burnett, crew chief), but it was what it was.”

Busch could have salvaged a respectable finish even after all that, but luck had other plans. While running 11th on lap 113, the right rear wheel on his No. 8 Chevy flew off.

“Obviously the issue with the right rear effectively ended our day. We were able to go out, log laps and finish the race, but we had high hopes that we had a car that could contend for the win today,” he added.

Kyle Busch wasn’t the only driver with a loose wheel. Last week’s winner Christopher Bell lost a wheel during the initial stage of the 267-lap showdown. Thankfully, his JGR teammate Chase Briscoe’s crew offered to help as Bell salvaged a top-15 finish.

Kyle Busch substitutes Xfinity Series driver in the broadcast booth

Kyle Busch filled in for Parker Kligerman in CW’s broadcast booth alongside play-by-play announcer Adam Alexander and Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray. Kligerman was busy competing in IMSA’s 12 Hours of Sebring.

It wasn’t Busch's first time in the broadcast booth. He had served several Truck Series broadcasts with his brother and Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

As the race was about to start, CW posted on X about Kyle Busch joining the roster. They shared the following post with the caption:

“Looks who's in the booth today @KyleBusch.”

2025 marks CW’s first season covering the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Their coverage kicked off with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on February 15.

Next up on the Xfinity side is the Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Scheduled for Saturday, March 22, the 200-lap race will be televised on CW from 4 pm ET onwards with live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.