Kurt Busch was not happy about how Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 ended at Talladega Superspeedway.
Busch led a race-high 108 laps and was in command much of the day. But he ran short on fuel in what turned out to be an overtime finish, which gave the lead and eventual win to Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Aric Almirola.
But Busch was upset with how the closing laps played out, including the overtime lap when a crash involving Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and Matt DiBenedetto happened.
“There was two missed calls by NASCAR at the end,” Busch said. “Why did we have an extra yellow flag lap is beyond me. The track was ready to go.
“And at the end. Once we crossed the white flag, if there’s a wreck and an ambulance needs to be dispatched. I’ve been on the other side of that where I was racing coming back to win the race and they said ‘Well, we had to dispatch an ambulance.’ There was two cars dead in the water.”
Busch believed caution should have been displayed to effectively end the race.
“Chase Elliott’s safety is of my concern,” Busch said. “So was the 32 (DiBenedetto) car. It’s a human call. There’s rules that need to be stricter at the end of these races.”
NASCAR’s response after the race addressed the issue:
“We were closely monitoring each car involved and were actively communicating with spotters and safety trucks in Turn 1. All cars were able to either roll off under their own power or signal they were clear. As always, we make every effort to end under green for our fans in the stands and at home, which we did.”
