HAMPTON, Ga.: A shove from Denny Hamlin at the start of Stage 2 was too much for Kurt Busch to control and it resulted in the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro being shoved into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 113 and ending the day for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.
Throughout Stage 1 of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Busch’s No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet showcased speed and maneuverability.
Claiming fourth at the end of Stage 1, Busch even showcased the team’s capabilities of contending for the win in the sixth race of the year.
Instead, Busch will finish 39th and suffer his worst NASCAR Cup Series finish of the 2021 season.
Hamlin wasn’t completely at fault for the accident, however.
On the restart for Stage 2, the outside lane led by Busch’s brother Kyle fumbled which stacked up the group of cars which forced Hamlin into the back of Busch to trigger the accident.
“I think the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) was the outside-lead car,” said Busch. “The No. 9 (Chase Elliott) kind of checked-up, too. I checked up; the No. 17 (Chris Buescher) hit us from behind. It was just the accordion effect and then I jumped to the middle. I’m like ‘I’m here; I positioned myself. It wasn’t like I re-arranged my lanes and made another block.
“He (Hamlin) didn’t do anything vicious or malicious there. It’s a 500-miler and these are the days that it hurts the worst. This absolutely hurts the worst because we had a top-five, winning, Monster Energy Chevy.”
The last-place finish is the second-worst result for the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing team in 2021.
Last month, the team finished 22nd in the season-opening Daytona 500 after being collected in a Lap 15 multi-car accident.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
