Kurt Busch perplexed by 'two missed calls' by NASCAR in overtime at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Kurt Busch has a couple questions for NASCAR officials following Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

“There was two missed calls though by NASCAR at the end,” he told NBC after the race.

The pole winner for the second Round of 12 playoff race drove one of the four most dominant cars on the 2.66-mile track, along with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and eventual race-winner Aric Almirola. With the four SHR Fords leading the way for most of the 193-lap race that went into overtime, Busch’s No. 41 car was the best of the best.

He led for a race-high 108 laps and was out front with three remaining when Alex Bowman got loose in his No. 88 Chevrolet and slammed into the outside wall and brought out a yellow caution flag.

With cars running low on fuel, the SHR Fords gambled and decided not to pit — except for Harvick, who stayed out with his teammates but was then forced to come down pit road when he ran out of fuel before the race restarted. The caution period lasted for five laps before the two overtime laps, during which Busch also ran out of fuel and forfeited the lead to Almirola.

“Why have an extra yellow-flag lap? Beyond me. The track was ready to go,” Busch continued, appearing under the impression that had the caution lasted four laps, he would have survived to win the race and guarantee his spot in the playoffs Round of 8.

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Per NBC’s race broadcast, Busch’s team estimated it had enough fuel for one overtime but not two. But the 40-year-old driver thinks the extra lap was the difference-maker for his team, which is ranked fourth (30 points ahead of the cutline) among the playoff drivers who haven't won in the second round.

But Busch would also like to know why a caution flag wasn’t thrown in overtime when Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 32 Ford slammed into the wall, leading to a multi-car accident that involved playoff driver Chase Elliott with less than a full lap remaining for the leaders.

“Once we crossed the white flag, if there’s a wreck and the ambulance needs to be dispatched — I’ve been on the other side of that where I was racing to come back and win the race, and they said, ‘Well, we had to dispatch an ambulance,’” Busch said.

“There was two cars dead in the water down there, and Chase Elliott’s safety is my concern, and so was the 32 car. So it’s a human call. There’s rules that need to be stricter at the end of these races.”

Had the yellow flag come out, the race would have ended under caution with Busch as the leader.

NASCAR issued a statement in response to Busch’s comments: “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.”