Kyle Busch's season becomes more heartbreaking after devastating loss at Kansas

With 33 laps to go in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at the Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch was in the cat bird's seat.

Busch held the race lead over Ross Chastain, and had the best car under him that he'd had all season.

Unfortunately, his chances at the race win were all but wiped out the following lap. As Busch tried to steer around Chase Briscoe — who was trying to stay on the lead lap — Briscoe continued to drive up the racetrack. The move caused Busch to hit the outside wall, sending the No. 8 car spinning from the lead.

Busch retained his top-10 running position, but was no longer a serious contender for the race win. Busch ended up finishing the race in 19th-place.

The incident marks another painful loss in a season of disappointment for Busch, who now only has six races remaining to try and win for the 20th consecutive season. Busch missed the 2204 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs — a fate that was especially heartbreaking after Busch finished second in the final two regular season races at Daytona and Darlington, respectively.

Busch's 2024 season has been marred by bad luck and unfortunate circumstances, but the No. 8 team can take solace in the fact that they've turned up the speed dial over the past several weeks. A win over the next six weeks isn't guaranteed for the future Hall of Famer, but if the speed continues to be present, it wouldn't be a shock for Busch to score the 64th win of his career.

Unfortunately, Busch's luck ran out in Kansas.