NASCAR drivers feat. Kyle Busch eliminated from the playoffs after massive Daytona wreck

Kyle Busch was knocked out of the NASCAR playoffs after a wreck at Daytona ended his night early. A post by reporter Jeff Gluck on X confirmed that Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Riley Herbst, and Noah Gragson were all eliminated from playoff contention. The crash at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 sealed their fate in the final race of the regular season.

The update came from Jeff Gluck. His post named the four drivers who will not move forward in the playoffs. For Busch, this was the most painful outcome, as he had entered Daytona needing nothing short of a win to stay alive.

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

Eliminated from playoff contention: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kyle Busch Riley Herbst Noah Gragson

The wreck came late in the first stage. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Bubba Wallace were three-wide racing for position when a bump from Kyle Larson sent Wallace down into Logano. Wallace then collided with Busch, triggering a chain reaction. The incident spread across the track and collected nine more cars, including Alex Bowman.

Bowman entered Daytona above the cutline but was taken out by the crash. His Hendrick Chevrolet sustained heavy damage and was pulled from the race.

Tyler Reddick, who already faced trouble earlier in a separate incident, benefited from Bowman’s exit and secured his place in the 2025 playoffs. Speaking afterward, Wallace accepted responsibility for causing the crash. He told NBC Sports,

“I’ll take the blame for it,”

“Unfortunately. Everything was going too good, too early to be true. Something was bound to happen. I hate that we were involved in it.”

Logano, who had no way out once the contact started, described how quickly the wreck developed. His spotter warned him on the radio,

“Mid-three, I don’t think they know.” Logano replied while crashing, “They didn’t know I got a sandwich.”

The crash ended the races of Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Riley Herbst, and Noah Gragson. Since all four were below the cutline and unable to continue, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Wallace and Austin Cindric, though both race winners earlier in the season, also suffered damage that ended their chances on the night.

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Kyle Busch’s long winless streak continues

Kyle Busch came to Daytona with one clear mission: win or go home. Sitting 19th in the standings and 148 points below the cutline, there was no way into the playoffs through points. Only a win at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 could have kept his hopes alive. Instead, an early wreck ended his race and extended his career-long winless streak to 82 races.

Before the event, Busch spoke about what a win would mean to him and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team. In an interview with Frontstretch, he joked that his victory lane celebration would be over the top.

“Plenty of real bourbon; that’s for damn sure,” Busch said with a smile. “I might be worse than Brad Keselowski after a championship!”

His teammate Austin Dillon had already locked himself into the playoffs by winning the previous week at Richmond. Dillon said his team planned to support Busch in the final push. Quoted by Speedway Digest, Dillon said,

“We want to go help our teammate Kyle Busch try and lock himself in. This is the last opportunity to get into the NASCAR Playoffs, so we’ll be focused on helping him.”

Kyle Busch last won in 2023 at the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. That win placed him ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, but the drought since then has been the longest of his Cup career. The Daytona crash made sure that streak grew even longer, shutting down his postseason before it began.