Kyle Busch wasnโt satisfied with the new rules package for Dover International Speedway; Team owner Bob Leavine seconds that
First off, Dover International Speedway saw a 76% increase in the number of green flag passes over the same race a year ago.
Martin Truex Jr started at the back of the field following an inspection issue ahead of the race. He then drove through the field to dominate stage three and take the race win by 10 seconds.
In the final stage, we saw a green flag pit cycle. That put gaps between the field and made the race slightly less entertaining, at least from a lead change perspective.
Kyle Busch knocked the package ahead of the race weekend. On Friday, he cited the speeds of the cars as โdangerousโ.
Related: Kyle Busch says the cars are โdangerously fastโ at Dover this weekend
He also noted that passing would be difficult with the increase in corner speeds. He wasnโt the only driver to take the stance.
The new rules package brought a significant downforce increase to the cars at Dover. This was in addition to the same horsepower numbers of the year prior.
In other words, the cars were on throttle a lot more through the corners. The corner speeds were way up while the speeds down the straights were about the same.
Kyle Busch finished 10th in Mondayโs race. He has finished in the top-10 for all 11 races in 2019. That ties a record with Morgan Shepherd who originally set the stat in 1990.
But, after the race, Kyle Busch noted that he wasnโt pleased with the rules package.
Kyle Busch knocks the NASCAR rules package
Claire B Lang: What about the package?
โOh, the package sucks. No question about it, itโs terrible,โ Kyle Busch said after his 10th place run at Dover International Speedway.
โBut, all I can do it bitch about it and itโll fall on deaf ears. Then, weโll come back here with the same thing in the Fall.โ
Kyle Busch is rarely happy outside of a race victory. Even as he ties records from the 1990โs, he had more to accomplish.
โIt would be nice to win more. It would be nice to run better, lead laps. This is a real bad weekend for us.โ
โWhen you run better at least youโd have something to hang your hat on. But, you run like that and itโs terrible.โ
NASCAR executive Steve OโDonnell responds to Kyle Busch
โHe didnโt have the race he wanted. Iโm not surprised with what he said,โ Steve OโDonnell stated via โThe Morning Driveโ on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
โI think itโs unfortunate. He actually tied a record yesterday. The question Iโm asking is about his comments post-race. And his teammate was able to win and pass every car in the field. But, he chose to make the comments he did.โ
โIf you look at the package, no matter what weโve put out there. Drivers always say, โItโs hard to pass.โ Our comment back to that has always been, โThese are the best drivers in the world and itโs going to be hard to pass.โ โ
โThese is one of our toughest tracks. Typically, we see some challenges in passing at Dover. In the last stage, we would have liked to see a little bit closer racing.โ
โWhen we talk about this package, it wasnโt done in a vacuum. The entire industry said, โWe want a consistent package for every race track.โ โ
โAll-in-all, I think the first two stages presented some good racing. Howโs the overall season been? Weโve seen some really good racing, stats are up. Green flag passes for the lead are up 46%. Thatโs an important stat.โ
Driver/Team feedback to NASCAR on the rules package
Kyle Busch made note of deaf ears. But, NASCAR has been very active in collecting feedback from a wide range of angles, drivers and team owners included.
After the race, it was more than just Kyle Busch that drove home the point.
โLet me second Kyle Busch statement, this package sucks. Has nothing to do with where he finished,โ NASCAR team owner Bob Leavine stated after the race.
โChristopher, NASCAR officials do not think it appropriate that a team owner speak out criticizing their package on social media so Iโm not making any more comments about it. They may be right.โ
Iโm actually on the board of the RTA and it is a great place for the team owners to voice their concerns and try to get a census of the most important issues to be discussed with NASCAR,โ Bob Leavine continued.
How does NASCAR take those comments into consideration for the future?
โWe certainly talk to everybody. Itโs unfortunate, especially with a team owner on social media. I donโt think thatโs the right way to do it, at all. But, thatโs the choice that was made,โ OโDonnell continued.
โWeโre available, every race. We go out there and talk to every constituent we have. Jim France is at every race, itโs just phenomenal.โ
โSo, the ability to saw that you donโt have a chance to talk to us about your feedback is a bit questionable.โ
NASCAR looking to please the race fans
โOur job is to balance, for the race fans, to put on the best race we can. Weโll take input, weโre not going to agree with everyone. I think what weโve learned throughout the years is the driverโs job is to win. They could care less if they win by a half second or 20 seconds,โ OโDonnell explained.
โSo, our job is to balance all of that input and then make a decision on what we think will put on the best race. The most competitive race, allowing as many cars [with the chance] to win as possible. But, we still want the best cars and drivers to win.โ
โAnytime you see, โItโs challenging to pass.โ Thatโs something we look at. And we said we would do that.โ
โBut, all-in-all, when you look at the body of work so far this year, itโs hard to say that the racing has not been better than last year. I go back to the facts and the facts prove that out,โ OโDonnell concluded.
Dover Green Flag Passing Data
Dover โ 6/6/19
1,588 (Most: Alex Bowman โ 84)
Dover โ 5/6/18
902 (Most: Clint Bowyer โ 47)
Result: +686 (+76.05%)
More
Dover Race Results: May 6, 2019
Kyle Busch says the cars are โdangerously fastโ at Dover this weekend๏ปฟ
Green flag passes are up significantly in 2019
