BROOKLYN, Mich: Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch had high hopes for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Unfortunately, after a delayed start to the race because of inclement weather, Busch made only 14 of 200 laps in the Irish Hill before exiting the race after a crash in Turn 1.
While battling Ryan Blaney for 10th, the two cars were inches apart when the air appeared to suck Busch’s No. 8 Kwik Trip | Kwik Star Chevrolet around and sent the Las Vegas, Nev. native hard into the Turn 1 wall.
Busch came to rest at the exit of Turn 1 and re-fired his battered machine while informing his crew that the car had suffered heavy damage.
The team had initially planned for the two-time Cup Series champion to bring his car to pit road for repairs, however, after quickly surveying the damage, crew chief Randall Burnett instructed his driver to take the wounded car to the garage, ending their day.
Busch will be credited with a 37th-place finish, his worst finish of the 2023 season.
In the last four races, the 38-year-old has delivered an average finish of 24.7 – compounded by a 36th place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last month.
The 63-time Cup Series winner was frustrated after being evaluated and released from the infield care center after Busch believed he could have challenged for his fourth win of the season about an hour from General Motors’s headquarters in Detroit.
““I put myself in a bad spot. I really hate that I did that,” said Busch after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “I wish the results were better for the day for our entire RCR team. They work so hard and do so much for me to put myself in a bad spot like that and get crashed. Hate it for Kwik Trip and everybody involved, it was a really short day.”
Busch believed there was contact with Blaney to trigger the spin.
“We touched a little bit and that’s when you lose all the air and you spin out,” he added. “You try to race; you try to race side by side and you wash up. It was all my fault.”
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