Kyle Busch heartbroken over Chase elimination

FORT WORTH — Kyle Busch won Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, did a burnout and took his usual bow at the finish line.

It was a moment of happiness for Busch, but it was brief. Busch is still crushed over his sudden elimination from the Chase for the Sprint Cup two weeks ago, and the victory didn't make him feel any better.

"Nothing softens the disappointment," Busch said in his first extensive comments since his elimination at Talladega Superspeedway. "It's disheartening, it's heartbreaking. You pour every single season into the Chase, and to get eliminated the way we did is very unfortunate. There's no other way to put it, quite frankly."

Busch entered the Talladega race ranked second of 12 drivers in the point standings and in excellent position to advance to the third round of eight drivers. His strategy was conservative: Run toward the back of the field in hopes of avoiding a big wreck, which would ensure a berth in Round 3.

It didn't work. While slowing for a crash, Busch was run into from behind by Austin Dillon. Aside from racing hard and hoping others were taken out in a big crash along with him, Busch said he doesn't know what he could have done differently.

"Being back where I was, kind of minding my own business and trying to be away from all that, I was the only Chase guy (that) crashed," he said. "Whether I came down or not, I don't know how you don't see me in front of you and miss me from behind. But it is what it is."

There seems to always be an incident in the middle of the Chase that removes Busch from contention, but this one was particularly tough to swallow. Busch had started the Chase with five straight top-10 finishes and was quietly putting together his best playoff run.

Then, just like that, it was over.

"We put fate in other people's hands there at Talladega," he said. "You have 42 other racers and sometimes it doesn't work out for you. Obviously, it didn't for us. That's luck.

"That seems to be my every single year, so mark it down as Talladega or Martinsville or Kansas where I tend to get crashed in the Chase and knock ourselves out. I guess until they get rid of those racetracks in the final 10, I'm doomed."

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