Kurt Busch gave up the lead just moments before the race ending red flag on Sunday at Daytona.
In hindsight, Kurt Busch had a win in the bag on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway but maybe he and his team jinxed it.
Busch was scored as the leader after the pit stops that followed the massive 17-car crash that unfolded on Lap 118. That was Lap 124. Four laps later, NASCAR showed the field the sign for one lap to go until the green flag.
As a result, Busch pitted from the lead, assuming the race would resume. That gave the lead to Justin Haley, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, the upstart team owned by the Spire Sports + Entertainment representation firm.
Simultaneously, a lightning bolt struck within an eight-mile radius of the track, prompting race control to delay the resumption of the race. The skies opened up within an hour and the race was called with Haley out front.
He had fallen to 10th after the pit stops.
Busch called the decision to delay the race after he hit pit road a “judgement call” on several instances after the race.
“I feel like we were in a really good position to win the race,” Busch said. “It was just a matter of when the one random lightning bolt comes down to decide when you make the call. So, it’s a judgement call on their part.”
Source: Read Full Article