Lap 161: Trying to fit into the hole between LaJoie and Christopher Bell in the outside lane exiting Turn 2, Busch loses the nose of his car and scrubs the retaining wall with the right side of his car. No harm, no foul, but a scare nonetheless.

Lap 176: It’s crunch time. Burnett hurries off the pit box and over to the No. 45 team’s command, where they discuss which lap pit stops might occur. Burnett hustles back to his box and formulates a plan.

Lap 177: The call is to pit this time — but it’s too late. Busch is stuck on the high side and can’t get down to pit with the Chevys from Kaulig Racing and Spire Motorsports.

Lap 178: It’s the Toyotas’ turn to pit, including Reddick’s No. 45 car. Burnett’s goal was not to pit at the same time as Reddick so neither team was slowed, and the No. 8 car stays on track for one more lap.

Lap 179 : Finally, Busch hits pit road with only Hamlin and Haley as companions. That Busch made it to pit road was a near-miracle in the team’s eyes, nearly out of fuel after last pitting at Lap 134 to rectify the left-front issue.

Lap 183: With pit stops complete, Busch reignites his charge toward the front. Within a lap, he goes from 25th to 15th using the inside line off Turn 4 before rocketing back to the outside exiting the tri-oval.

Lap 192: And it struck. At the head of the field, an errant bump from Bowman to Byron triggers a 23-car melee at the end of the backstretch, eliminating several contenders from this Daytona 500. Busch was able to slow to a near-stop and escaped unscathed, navigating through the minefield of debris in Turns 3 and 4. The No. 8 team has life in it yet — fittingly scored eighth as the red flag waves.

Lap 196: Back to green. It’s a four-lap shootout to decide the Daytona 500. The two lanes remain in parade formation as they build to speed, gridlocking Busch in 10th.

Lap 197: Finally, an opportunity to jump to the third lane out near the wall arises in Turns 3 and 4. Busch jumps right of Bell with a head of steam as help comes from rookie Zane Smith and four others to the stripe.

Lap 198: Across the start/finish line, Elliott comes up in front of Busch. The outermost lane previously led by Busch has to check up for Elliott, but the middle lane led by Chastain and Bowman now has no momentum, allowing the inside lane to advance further with Byron out front. The middle lane reforms and pulls up to battle for third, but Busch is effectively out of it. The jostling killed his momentum, and now he dives to the bottom lane at the back of the pack coming to the white flag.

Lap 199: Coming into the tri-oval, Busch gets a massive run and leaps to the center lane — perhaps there’s a chance to salvage a decent finish out of this after all. But there’s another crash at the front of the field. Chastain and Cindric collide across the stripe and slide through the tri-oval grass. Moments after the front-runners took the white flag, the caution flag is displayed. Race over.

Lap 200 is here. It’s the lap that Busch led in 2023. Then, it just meant an overtime finish was imminent. This year, Byron led at the time of caution and won the Daytona 500.
James Gilbert | Getty ImagesSo ends another chapter in the story of Kyle Busch’s search for the Harley J. Earl Trophy. There was no question his car was capable. There was no question the driver was capable. But when the green flag flew, circumstances favored others once again.