Kyle Petty Fires Back at Chris Buescher’s Playoff Bashing – ‘Knew What The System Was’

Kyle Petty has fired back at Chris Buescher’s playoff bashing with the response that everyone knew what the Playoff system was from the beginning of the season.

The controversy erupted following the Southern 500, where Chase Briscoe clinched the victory, but Chris Buescher missed out on a NASCAR Playoffs spot. Buescher’s comments post-race ignited the debate after he reflected on his team’s performance and criticized the playoff system.

“Yeah just uh, I don’t know,” he said during an interview on Pit Road. “Feel like we did what for the most part what we needed to do today. Got back in contention there at the end and had a decent finish out of it.

“Just uh, didn’t quite get it done again and now we are on the outside looking in,” Buescher said. “Unfortunately it’s just the system we’re all playing in.

“We’ve had such a great year, everyone at RFK works so hard. We’ve been so fast, we’ve outrun so many of these cars that are going to get to run for a championship but that’s the system and we didn’t work it right.”

Petty, a veteran figure in the NASCAR world, didn’t mince words in his postrace analysis.

He accused Buescher of being “sour” over missing out on the playoffs, pointing out that all drivers were well aware of the system when the season commenced in February.

Petty said:

“Sour grapes. They started in February and knew what the system was. You know what stage points are; you know what you have to do to run up front and win.

“They’ve run well; they just haven’t won races,” Petty explained.

Despite a strong season and consistently outpacing many playoff-bound cars, Buescher found himself on the outside looking in. This wasn’t an isolated incident. Other drivers, including Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Kyle Busch, who had accrued more points than some playoff qualifiers, also missed out.

The playoff system, as it stands, involves a blend of performance consistency and crucial victories. Most drivers making the playoffs are consistently top-20 in points, showing the system’s self-regulating nature to an extent. However, it raises questions about possible adjustments to ensure the best-performing drivers get a chance to compete, regardless of occasional missteps in strategy or luck.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below.

NASCAR Cup Series: Cook Out Southern 500 At Darlington Raceway Results

1. Chase Elliott – Running
2. Ryan Preece – Running
3. Austin Cindric – Running
4. Brad Keselowski – Running
5. Austin Dillon – Running
6. Bubba Wallace – Running
7. Todd Gilliland – Running
8. Daniel Suárez – Running
9. Alex Bowman – Running
10. Ty Gibbs – Running
11. Harrison Burton – Running
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – Running
13. Zane Smith – Running
14. Erik Jones – Running
15. John H. Nemechek – Running
16. Shane Van Gisbergen – Running
17. Justin Haley – Running
18. Michael McDowell – Running
19. Daniel Hemric – Running
20. William Byron – Accident
21. Josh Berry – Accident
22. Noah Gragson – Accident
23. Carson Hocevar – Accident
24. Kaz Grala – Running
25. Timmy Hill – Steering
26. Martin Truex Jr – Accident
27. Ryan Blaney – Accident