Ty Gibbs walked away with his first NASCAR Cup Series win in Bristol on Sunday, but the storm struck down in the Kyle Busch garage. The two-time Cup Series champion started the race in 29th place and finished in 25th, marking his fourth consecutive finish outside the top 20 this season.

During the final few laps of the race, Busch spun out 23XI Racing driver Riley Herbst as payback for a lap 313 incident, where the roles were reversed. It caused a late caution and pushed the race into overtime with just two laps remaining.

The late caution almost cost Busch's former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Ty Gibbs, his maiden Cup Series win. Prior to the caution being thrown out, Gibbs was leading the race over Ryan Blaney. The JGR racing driver, however, managed to defend himself from Blaney’s moves close behind and win by 0.055 seconds, the closest victory margin at Bristol Motor Speedway.

NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck had made an X post about the incident, and fans sounded off their opinions in the comment section. 

The nature of the seemingly intentional move by Kyle Busch didn't sit right with fans. They questioned whether the move warranted Busch's suspension by NASCAR officials.

NASCAR fans slam Kyle Busch for Herbst incident

Several fans drew similarities between this incident and the one involving Bubba Wallace from Martinsville last weekend. One user wrote, "Are people going to call for his suspension like they did Bubba?"

Another fan echoed the sentiment, writing, "Should be suspended for at least 5 races," while another expected at least a penalty for Kyle Busch. "That should be a penalty honesty. It’s bad from Kyle’s in car," they wrote.

The two-time Cup Series champion's payback on Herbst also drew criticism for potentially altering the entire outcome of the race. "He got 2 birds with 1 stone. Payback herbst and potentially take Gibbs first win," a user wrote in the comments.

Another wrote, "I’m for retaliation but not when it changes the outcome of a race at the very end. Come on Kyle."

One fan took a different tangent, pointing out the relationship between Busch and Gibbs, as they were former teammates. The user commented, "I’m sure @KyleBusch will congratulate ty after watching him grow up and be around his family all those years!"

Busch's last Cup Series win came in June 2023. The pressure is only piling up for the NASCAR veteran, as he faces the possibility of not having a contract post-2026.

What are your thoughts on Kyle Busch's 'payback' on Riley Herbst during the Bristol race? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak