LAS VEGAS – Solid performances from Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott ended with two destroyed race cars 85 laps from the finish in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Less than a lap after the field took the green for a restart on Lap 183, Kurt Busch lost control of his No. 41 Haas Ford, exiting Turn 4 and drifted into Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, forcing both him into the wall.
Busch’s car then turned nose-first into the frontstretch wall.
Both drivers were uninjured in the crash.
After being released from the infield care center, Busch, a native of Las Vegas said his car just stepped out and ruined his and Elliott’s day.
“I was running the low groove and it just stepped out on me,” offered Busch. “I wasn’t even trying to fill the whole or go 100%. I had it at 90% and I knew Chase was going to be on my outside and it was just that quick.
“We were back there in the dirty air, but turn four, I always know it is slick and I wasn’t even pushing through there and it stepped out on me. Ruined his day, ruined my day. I hate it for all the Chase Elliott fans and the Kurt Busch fans and my hometown fans. “
Busch admits that he wasn’t even pushing his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to its limits when the incident occurred.
“I wasn’t even pushing hard,” he added. “I knew we had one more stop and then we were going to go. It just stepped out on me. It is ridiculous.”
For the second consecutive weekend, Elliott was the leading performance car for Hendrick Motorsports.
After qualifying sixth, Elliott ran as high as fourth during Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race but finished 34th in his third Cup start in Sin City.
“Yeah, I think he (Busch) just got loose in the bottom there and I was, unfortunately, the guy that was up top,” offered Elliott who was the only Hendrick car on the lead lap at the time. “So, we were just trying to be solid today and make the most of what our NAPA Camaro had, and I thought we were doing a pretty good job of that; kind of like what we did last week in trying to get a little bit better.
“I was just kind of there at the wrong spot and the wrong situation and I’m headed home early.”
Elliott said Busch apologized for the crash.
“Yeah, he just said ‘sorry’ and that he got loose on the bottom and kind of swapped ends,” Elliott explained. “I just happened to be on his outside. It happens and it’s unfortunate. I hate to tear up another racecar. We are two for three on wrecking, so we will try to not wreck next week.”
The accident left Elliott and Busch their second DNF (did not finish) in the season’s first three races. Both drivers wrecked out of the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
