Late in the race, Kyle Busch was battling for position with William Byron when #52 Honest Abe Roofing driver Garrett Smithley, who was laps down, couldn't move down to get out of the way of the lead lap cars. Kyle Busch also didn't have enough time to move down, and Busch would hit Smithley in the rear. Busch would have major front end damage, saying "think the nose is knocked in. Fucking destroyed". Busch would go on to finish 19th, and Smithley 35th, 12 laps down.
Busch was noticeably frustrated during post race interviews, saying:
Reporter 1: What happened there with the #53, there late?
Kyle Busch: #52, get it right. Don´t know.
Reporter 1: And how´d that impact your car?
Kyle Busch: Killed it.
Reporter 1: What did you think... were you happy that you were able to come back after the early damage to your (car)?
Kyle Busch: Nope.
Reporter 1: What happened there at the beginning of the race?
Kyle Busch: I´m just here so I don´t get fined.
Reporter 2: How about the heat? How did it...
Kyle Busch: Felt great.
Reporter 2: You felt fine out there the whole time?
Reporter 1: Based on since you´re doing to a place where you won last time, last year, Richmond...
Kyle Busch: Nope, can´t pass there.
Reporter 1: Do you feel OK about your chances overall at Homestead?
Kyle Busch: Don´t care.
Reporter 3: Does it help any at all that you had the bonus points coming in here, coming out of this race?
Kyle Busch: Just here so I don´t get fined.
Reporter 1: Do you feel like if you were able to get a top 10...
(Kyle Busch´s PR manager walks up to Kyle Busch and talks to Busch)
Kyle Busch: I´m answering the dumbest fucking questions over and over again. Am I good?
On Monday, September 16, Smithley would defend his actions on Twitter, tweeting ¨Held my line... 2 cars got around.¨ Fans were split on the issue- some saying Smithley should have gotten out of the way, while others saying Busch should have moved his line earlier. On the same day, Smithley would post an announcement on Twitter, defending his racing career up to that point and saying that he wasn't mad at Busch.[13] Busch would criticize the skill of lapped car drivers, saying “We’re at the top echelon of motorsports, and we’ve got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack. It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do?¨ On September 20, Smithley would tweet ¨Even when I don’t do anything @KyleBusch blames me. Went outta my way to give him room tonight. Think he might have thought I was in a different car. 🤷🏼♂️¨. As of now, nothing more has been said, but the question of skill needed in NASCAR has remained, recently brought up by Quin Houff´s incident with Matt Dibenedetto at the 2020 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Race statistics
Lead changes: 24 among 14 different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 4 for 22
Red flags: 0
Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes and 34 seconds
Average speed: 142.555 miles per hour (229.420 km/h)
PRN covered the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XMNASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2 & Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan, Wendy Venturini, and Heather DeBeaux worked pit road for the radio side.
