“Screwed us out of another one”: When Kyle Busch called out his own team after falling short at Dover

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch encountered a major setback during the AAA 400 race held at Dover International on September 30, 2012. Despite a dominating performance, he fell short of victory and sarcastically called out his own team on the radio.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Busch and Denny Hamlin led 85% of the race, with Busch alone leading 302 laps and Hamlin leading 39 laps, but both drivers lost the race to Brad Keselowski. The JGR drivers encountered a mileage issue with their cars and made a pit stop on consecutive laps in the final stage of the race, costing them the win.

After the race, Kyle Busch's crew chief Dave Rogers explained that they opted for a new strategy of taking the cars "on max power." They increased the horsepower of both cars and had the fastest cars on the grid, but the fuel efficiency caught them off-guard, losing the lead in the final ten laps to Keselowski.

"We played our best cards, and we came up short. There was no doubt we had the fastest car," stated Dave Rogers.

Hamlin was optimistic despite losing the race and emphasizing working on the efficiency of the car. On the other hand, Kyle Busch, who faced several challenges in the 2012 Cup Series season, expressed his frustration and said:

"Thank you, TRD. (Screwed) us out of another one." (via USA Today)

Busch led 75% of the race and finished in seventh place on the standings, while Hamlin was one spot behind him in eighth place. Jeff Gordon finished as runner-up, followed by Mark Martin in third place.

Kyle Busch had the toughest year of his career in the 2024 Cup Series season

Kyle Busch had the toughest career of his career in the NASCAR Cup Series while driving for Richard Childress Racing, breaking two of his records this season. Busch started his motorsports journey in 2003 as a part-time driver under the Hendrick Motorsports banner and turned in a full-time Cup Series driver in 2005.

Since then, the Las Vegas native has secured at least one win each season and advanced to the playoffs without fail except for the 2012 season while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. He then parted ways with JGR and joined Richard Childress Racing in 2023.

Kyle Busch struggled to cross the finish line before any other driver this year in 36 races. He came close to a win on several occasions, including his runner-up positions at Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway, but wasn't lucky enough to cross the finish line first, securing a win.

The RCR driver got his final chance at the Championship Four race at Phoenix Raceway, but he struggled in the race since the qualifying laps. He started the race in P25 from the grid and had an accident with Harrison Burton on lap 73. He finished the race in P21 and ended his season in P20 without securing a playoff spot.