HOMESTEAD — Former Chase contender Kyle Busch was trying to spoil the parade in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway on Sunday, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver fell victim to mechanical gremlins nearing the halfway point in the Ford EcoBoost 400.
Busch, who delivered two top-fives in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series finales respectively, found himself inside the top-five when the fourth caution of the day waved on Lap 117.
Busch’s trouble surfaced as he attempted to leave pit road, when his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry stalled. The California-race winner piped on the radio that he thought he “broke a drive-train and only has fourth (gear).”
Quickly, members of the Joe Gibbs Racing team came to the rescue of the Las Vegas, Nevada native. Upon review, Busch’s team deemed the issue not to be a drive-train issue, but rather an axle issue.
Attempts to repair the car behind the wall, near their pit stall were unsuccessful. A short time later, Busch took his Toyota to the garage, where he remained for a few laps, before rejoining the field 23 laps down.
After falling to as low as 43rd, Busch would recover to finish 39th.
“We were hoping our night was going to turn out a little bit better,” said Busch, who finished the season with one win, nine top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes. “We started the race tight, and we really got our car driving well there before we had a rear axle and gear break. I think we were up to fifth and looking to gain more. I’ve never had a rear axle break in my life. Not sure if it’s something I did or not. The guys had a really fast pit stop there, and we were trying to get as many positions as we could on pit road there. That’s really tough luck for our M&M’s Camry.”
The 29-year old was eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup following a crash at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October. Busch ended the season 10thin series standings with one win, nine top-fives and 15 top-10 finishes.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
