All season long, it felt like that elusive win could be just around the corner for Kyle Busch.
With 63 career wins in the Cup Series, the former two-time champion entered this season as the winningest active driver with at least one victory in 19 consecutive seasons – the longest streak in NASCAR history.
He had also made the postseason in each of the last 11 seasons, which was the longest active streak in the Cup Series. That came to an end Sunday in the most fitting way possible given how the rest of his season has gone for Busch.
Busch finishes second in Southern 500 at Darlington
For the final dozen laps of Sunday’s Southern 500, it looked like Busch might finally reach Victory Lane in the final race of a regular season full of heartbreak.
The No. 8 car charged into second place after a restart on Lap 351 and tailed Briscoe like a shark in the water for the final 16 laps. But he could never clear the No. 14 and settled for second place – spelling the end of his lengthy playoff streak.
Sunday’s result marked the second straight runner-up finish for Busch, who had a win in his sights last week in Daytona before Parker Retzlaff pushed Harrison Burton to victory to deny a playoff spot for the two-time champion.
READ MORE: Nightmare year lives on for Kyle Busch at Daytona: ‘Nothing else I could do’
It was the third consecutive top-five and fifth this season for Busch. He came up inches short in a three-wide finish at Atlanta in March, and he finished fourth with 34 laps led after winning the pole at Dover in April.
“We really overachieved toward the end,” Busch said after the race, which also applies for his overall season effort. “It’s something to build off of after a dismal year.”
Can Busch keep record win streak alive?
While Busch’s playoff hopes have been dashed, he can still keep alive his record-setting run of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one win.
It sure looked like that would come to fruition last week, when he led on the final lap before Burton’s late surge left Busch without any options – unless he decided to wreck the 23-year-old around the final turn, which wouldn’t play well with NASCAR officials.
READ MORE: Daytona winner’s mom praises Kyle Busch’s ‘race morals’ after wild finish
After another near-miss at Darlington, Busch has now gone 47 consecutive races without a victory, the longest drought of his storied career. He’s finished second or third a whopping seven times since his last win in June 2023 (Gateway).
“There’s been a lot of opportunities …” Busch said after Sunday’s race. “Maybe I need two hands to count opportunities that have slipped away.”
He’ll still have 10 chances to secure his first win of the season, starting this upcoming Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the site of Busch’s closest call this season, when he finished 0.007 seconds back of winner Daniel Suarez in a crazy finish.
Busch will be racing among the field of non-playoff contenders for the first time since 2012. He previously missed the postseason as a rookie in 2005 and again in 2009, and he’s made the postseason every year since the format changed in 2014.
His best chance for a victory could come next month in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the road course in Charlotte, where he’s finished in the top five in each of his last three races.
He also owns wins over the last three years at Talladega, Bristol and Kansas, which all host races over the next five weeks.