'I'm Flabbergasted': Kyle Busch Eliminated From NASCAR Cup Playoffs, Some Blame Next Gen Cars

Following some big news about his next season, Kyle Busch is officially out of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after a disappointing end at Bristol Motor Speedway that many fans and drivers blame on the season’s Next Gen cars. 

Busch has had a difficult time in his last three races this year. An engine failure took him out while leading the Southern 500 and he had further setbacks at Kansas that left him with a 26th place finish. Going into Bristol, he was below the cutline but hoped to climb his way back in. 

Unfortunately, his Toyota suffered yet another engine failure, which sent him bouncing off the wall and took him out of the race for good. He ultimately finished in 34th place. According to Motorsports, he had some hope after leaving the track when fellow “Race For The Championship” star Daniel Suarez triggered a crash that took out Busch’s soon-to-be Richard Childress Racing teammates Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick.

RELATED: Joey Logano Shares Insight Into Kyle Busch's Transition To RCR: 'It's A Weird Environment'

Despite the potential to move him up in the standings, the crash didn’t move the needle for Busch, resulting in him, Dillon, Reddick and Kevin Harvick becoming the latest quartet dropped from 2022 Cup Series contention.

The Bristol race was fraught with issues that many claimed not only hampered some of their favorite drivers but made for a bad race day. NBC Sports notes that the cars made it difficult to pass, resulting in only 12 lead changes, the fewest in 13 years on the track. Race winner Chris Buescher led 61 laps. Meanwhile, reliability problems not only took out Busch, but they impacted literally every Toyota on the track. Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell had tire issues, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs saw their steering impacted and, of course, Busch’s engine gave out. 

“I don't even know what to say. I'm flabbergasted,'' Busch said after the race (via ESPN). "I just feel so bad for my guys. They don't deserve to be in this spot, we're too good of a group to be this low down on the bottom and fighting for our lives just to make it through. But two engine failures in three weeks, that will do it to you.”

He concluded: “This is not our normal.” 

With that, Busch is out of the 2022 Cup Series and can now fully focus on his switch to Richard Childress Racing next year. You can watch all the drama unfold on USA Network’s “Race For The Championship” every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. 

Meanwhile, you can catch more NASCAR content on Peacock now.