While Chase Elliott won today’s Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch was rubbing for racing. Contact was made with 2 to go, which appears to show Busch getting well into John Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch. While it can be argued that Busch was trying to get in line for corner entry, it can also be argued that Busch blatantly made that ‘right turn’ into Nemechek.
Busch is certainly unhappy with his race result — 20th place. He earned a very strong qualifying result, starting the race in the top 10. Yet Richard Childress Racing continues to fall well short of expectations. Austin Dillon finished in 18th himself.
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Why the Contact?
NASCAR Cup Series at Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Busch is well known for his raw racing. He plays a no-holds-barred game, and leading up to the race at Texas, Busch was quoted as saying he has to “put the train back on the tracks.”
Given Busch’s reputation, the speculation clearly centers on Busch dumping Nemechek into the wall. It is unclear whether the duo had any in-race issues that led to the contact. As is well known, Busch needs little reason to rub any side panels. The fact is not necessarily one of poor or dirty racing, but of aggression, a willingness to succeed, and an old-school mindset.
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Upon contacting Nemechek on the backstretch wall, Busch did not stop. Entering turn 3, Busch hit an even harder right turn into Nemechek. If NASCAR had waived the caution flag, the story could have drastically unraveled into something bigger.
Post-race, Nemechek took to X to voice his unhappiness, “not freaking clear. great day going. and just got wrecked.”
NASCAR Saves Busch?
The cars were coming to the white flag as this happened. Nemechek spun in turn 3, and if he did not get down the track fast enough, NASCAR could have waived the yellow before the white. While it is unlikely that this could have occurred, it still could have.
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Fortunately for Elliott, he was nearly half a second ahead of Hamlin. That meant whether the white flag came out or not, Elliott would still win as long as the next flag was either yellow or checkered. If the caution had come out before the white flag, the result could have been controversial only if it had somehow cost Elliott the win.
Coming to NASCAR Overtime due to ignorant racing would have been frustrating. In Texas, the corner entry allows cars to go high, low, or in the middle. There is not much of a preferred lane of restart. Unlike other tracks, Elliott would have had little to no advantage.
Nonetheless, the race ended as clean as hoped, and Elliott won for the 2nd time in 2026. As for the weeks to come, fans can expect Nemechek in his edgy-racing style to come to bumpers with Busch.
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Stay tuned for further comments from Busch/Nemechek.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on May 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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