As Chase Elliott scooted away for his second NASCAR Cup Series win of 2026, there was some momentary doubt as to whether he’d have to execute another restart as FOX cut to John Hunter Nemechek spinning off the wall as the field took the white flag at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday (May 3).
After a replay post-race, we were all shown that JHN had a tussle with Kyle Busch coming onto the backstretch. Both drivers looked to converge for the same spot, with Busch getting sent into the outside wall and then retaliating as they dove into turn 3, wrecking JHN in the process.
Was this a bridge too far? Should Busch be penalized for what happened on the final lap in Texas? Joy Tomlinson and Thomas Dunn examine that on this week’s 2-Headed Monster.
Busch’s Texas Two-Step of Penalties
Yes, Busch should be penalized for his actions on the racetrack at Texas on Sunday.
Busch and Nemechek were in the middle of the pack after pitting during a caution late in the race. They were racing for position, and Busch tried to clear himself going into a turn.
He wasn’t clear, and he hit the wall as a result.
But then, he proceeded to lose his cool and let JHN get alongside him and drive up into Nemechek, sending the No. 42 into the wall with a wrecked racecar.
Nemechek voiced his opinion on X after the race, calling Busch an “a**.”
Later, the No. 8 driver also posted to X and noted how Nemechek “apparently doesn’t know where the [right side] of his car is and where he is in relation to the outside wall. There was [two feet] outside him, and I was judging my left side tires to the hash marks.” Busch also showed an image and a video of SMT data of the cars on the racetrack.
So what is Busch’s point here? That his actions were justified because of the amount of room Nemechek had to the wall?
In the video replays, it appeared that Nemechek held his line and Busch just slid up on the left front of Nemechek’s car.
This doesn’t warrant wrecking someone’s car. Understandably, Busch was frustrated to be outside the top 10 on the final restart when he was finally having a good run and showing strong pace.
What isn’t understandable, or even acceptable, is a knee-jerk reaction over the contact and letting anger take control of the wheel.
Later, Busch took to social media again, responding to a fan.
“How do [you] know where they are when [they’re] in your blind spot, smart guy?” Busch said. “Every situation, the guy behind is on my [right rear]. How can I see that? I thought it was always the guy behind at fault for running into you? They have two pedals and a steering wheel too.”
What he said about the “guy behind you” doesn’t really apply in Sunday’s situation with Nemechek, as the No. 42 was ahead of Busch before he tried to pass and clear (well, not clear) Nemechek.
While this isn’t like some other recent retaliatory wrecks in that it isn’t a right-rear hook, it’s fairly obvious that it was an intentional action by Busch and he should be penalized at least by dropping him to the rear.
One similar incident that comes to mind is when Denny Hamlin incurred a penalty after his incident with Ross Chastain at Phoenix Raceway back in 2023. At that time, Hamlin discussed his actions on the Actions Detrimental podcast.
“When he knows it’s coming, he is the hardest guy to wreck on the planet,” Hamlin said on the podcast. “But I just, I wanted to get back to racing honestly with him, and I think that that’s a lot of the conversation that we had after. … He came up to me, and he says, ‘I guess I deserve it.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ …. So we talked, and I think that we are in a better place where I think we’re willing to put the past behind us, and I think that we’re going to judge each other from this point forward, and I think that’s the fairest way to do it.”
Later that week, Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 points for violating the rules.
If NASCAR wants to be consistent with its policies, the sanctioning body should either fine Busch or suspend him for one race, as other drivers have been recently.
Ironically, Busch himself commented after Austin Cindric’s fine when Cindric hooked Ty Dillon at Circuit of the Americas last year. “Put it in the rulebook: A right hook will result in one-race suspension. Period.”
But as I said, while it wasn’t a right-rear hook, it still was pretty easy to see it was an intentional move that should warrant a penalty. – Joy Tomlinson
There’s No Need for a Points Penalty or Suspension
There’s definitely a lot for NASCAR to examine when it comes down to it. Considering Busch’s history at this very track with the Ron Hornaday incident over a decade ago, there’s validity as to why KFB could not be at the track next time out at Watkins Glen International.
But for Busch to be significantly penalized with points and potentially suspended would be a bridge too far based on recent precedent. In acknowledging the aforementioned Cindric fiasco, the Team Penske driver was merely given a slap on the wrist.
NASCAR would have to change its tune once again when it comes to putting down the iron fist if it were to escalate this far.
If series officials need to sit them both down in the hauler at Watkins Glen to nip this and avoid any further problems, so be it. If they want to acknowledge the situation and fine Busch, and then move on afterward, that would make sense as well.
I view those choices at different levels of thought. These propositions would involve meaningful consequences that would hinder an already-reeling Richard Childress Racing No. 8 team. However, that’s the choice Busch put the series in.
It’s not the only situation that the sanctioning body will have to police either. Two heat-seeking missile-esque wrecks took place at Texas, with Ryan Preece and Ty Gibbs also coming to blows.
Another reason why no points penalty or suspension should take place is because of the hard-line stance surrounding wrecks and right-rear hooks. Neither accident rises to that level, and that’s especially the case for Busch and JHN. It’s definitely not the smartest move the two-time Cup champion has ever pulled off, but it can be difficult to justify more consequences based on history.
Furthermore, we don’t have the full picture yet regarding what was potentially broken on the No. 8 Chevrolet. With how fragile toe links are on the Next Gen car, there is a reality where Busch was angry but also that he couldn’t turn the car anymore after the fact, as seen on the white flag lap. Steering problems after contact are practically a weekly occurrence in the Cup Series, and this was no different, making it more important to get the whole picture when it comes to investigating.
Given what we’ve seen over the years and even this weekend, it’s too much to give Busch a points penalty or suspension. – Thomas Dunn
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
Thomas is in his second year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon. He helps manage the 2-Headed Monster Column.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college athletics in the Bay Area, writing about the California Golden Bears and doing play by play broadcasting.
Penalize Kyle? You can plow into to other cars and turn them on pit road without ever getting a penalty, so I’m a hard no. Kyle did what all of the other drivers wanted to do. John Hunter is racing about 4 levels above his skill set so instead of whining he should be thanking NASCAR for letting him buy a ride.
He’s already driving the #8 car for Childress… what more can you do to him?
Lol. You beat me to it.
“Have at it boys” but don’t bump into each other.