Kyle Busch crossed the finish line fourth overall at Michigan International Speedway on Monday. He didn't extend his record to 20 consecutive seasons with a win, but he left the track with the confidence the No. 8 team is on an upward trajectory.
"This is how we would expect to run," Busch told NBC Sports after the race. "This is how we want to run. We want to run up front, top 10s, and have opportunities to excel. If I had to say, (we had) maybe a seventh- or eighth-place car today, and we got a fourth out of it.
"Good pit calls helped us to do that and just making a couple good moves on those late restarts that got us that. Nothing can translate from today into Daytona or Darlington -- setup-wise, vehicle dynamics, that sort of stuff. But good momentum rolling in the right direction. Just keep that going."
Good day w my @RCRracing guys, gave me a great @Lucas_Oil 🎱 today. Just a lil too tight. See if we can make some magic next week.@TeamChevy l @ECRengines pic.twitter.com/YkusANk76u
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) August 19, 2024
Busch had speed at the two-mile track where he has one previous win. Sure, he didn't have the same pace as race-winner Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., or Bubba Wallace. He still ran better than he has throughout the season while the No. 8 pit crew consistently delivered strong stops.
A big moment for Busch occurred during the final stage. The team stayed out long during green flag pit stops in the final stage. He then gave up the lead on Lap 166 to make his potential final stop of the day.
Instead of taking four tires, however, Busch's team opted for two. This put him back out on the track ahead of Byron, Reddick, and other contenders during what they expected to be a long, green-flag run.
This advantage didn't last as he lost multiple spots, but he was able to remain in the top five for the remainder of the race which included two overtime attempts.
"Just needed a little bit more out of the Lucas Oil Chevrolet," Busch said. "We just kind of missed a tenth at each end, not quite being able to wrap the corners as fast as I needed to be able to run 0.00s and teens. I think I was running 0.30s.
"Overall, just a net positive on the weekend and then being better speed, upfront, and having a shot, anyways. We ran top 10 all day. Really good call by (crew chief Randall Burnett) and the guys to get us that two tires, get us more track position, and just try to hold them off as best as we could."