"That damn 7 is a weapon" - Richard Childress slams Corey LaJoie after Pocono wreck ruins Busch's playoff chances

Richard Childress has called out Corey LaJoie for slashing his driver Kyle Busch's odds of punching the ticket to the playoffs. With just 40 laps to go on the restart, the traffic channeled through Turn 1 but right before the #8 Chevy approached the turn, LaJoie's #7 Chevy ruined the day.

Kyle Busch's current season has zero wins, two top-5s, and six top-10s. But the most miserable aspect of the two-time Cup Series champion's stats is his five DNFs, with the latest of them coming at the Pocono Raceway.

After succumbing to three consecutive DNFs in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nashville, the Richard Childress Racing driver secured his sixth top-10 finish of 2024at the Chicago Street Race.

However, displeasure again knocked on Busch's door as his Cup weekend at Pocono kicked off on a disappointing note. Before The Great American Getaway 400 began, the #8 Chevy had an oil leak and due to the repair work being done post-qualifying, the Nevada native was sent to the rear of the pack in P24.

Into the race, Kyle Busch drove along the pack, while Corey LaJoie, behind the former, scrounged for the inside line to make a pass. In the due process, however, the #8 Chevy got nudged and swayed over the grass before returning to the asphalt and spiraling four more high-octane rides with it.

LaJoie's move didn't sit well with Busch's boss Richard Childress and he lashed at Spire Motorsports driver for diminishing his driver's playoff prospects.

"That damn 7 [Corey LaJoie] is a weapon. A damn weapon," Childress said via Jonathan Fjeld on X.

"I'm not gonna say sorry"- Corey LaJoie unapologetic after collision with Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch

The ensuing traffic on the restart became the reason for chaos, from which LaJoie tried to escape. After getting a big push from AJ Allmendinger and almost going in a 4-wide battle before Turn 1, the Spire Motorsports driver's pursuit was blocked by Kyle Busch. But the #7 Chevy did a second try to overtake which was again hindered by the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Corey LaJoie aimed to capitalize on the momentum after the restart which didn't come to fruition after being double-blocked by Busch. The former was affirmative if the RCR driver had blocked just once, the duo might be in a better-off spot.

However, in LaJoie's words, the #8 Chevy driver believed he had the second interception covered which wasn't the case, and got wrecked out as a result.

"That second block that he [Kyle Busch] thought he had it covered, and he didn't was what did the [destruction] and did a couple of other guys in," LaJoie said via NASCAR.

"Kyle and I've been racing each other around for long enough we won't be smashing into each other on purpose- I'm not gonna say sorry, I'm not sorry about it because that was the thing out there and if the issue was on another foot, the exact same thing would've happened, the Spire Motorsports driver added.

Following his DNF at the Pocono Raceway, the Richard Childress driver has plummeted further below the playoff cutline with a deficit of 102 points. Only five regular season Cup races are left and the odds of Busch's entry into the playoffs are slimming on every race weekend.