Kyle Busch, whose strong performances early in the Chase for the Nextel Cup put him among the serious title contenders, crashed early in Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway after Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit him from behind.
Busch, who was fourth in the Chase standings going into the LifeLock 400, said he tried to let Earnhardt pass when the contact was made fewer than 30 laps into the race.
“I just left him a lane to try to let him go on the outside, because I knew he was going to have a run off the corner,” Busch said. “And I got run into the back of, and got spun down the back straightaway for absolutely no reason. It was a pretty stupid move on his part.” CanadianPress
Earnhardt accepted full responsibility. “We put the No. 5 car out,” he said. “That was an accident. I want to apologize to his fans and their team and Kyle. That was a bad mistake on my part.”
But Busch clearly wasn’t happy. His crewmen dashed between the No. 5 car’s garage stall and team transporter, retrieving replacement sheet metal from the truck’s upper storage bay. Mechanics, knowing that every minute lost would mean valuable championship points lost, scrambled through toolboxes and rushed to weld new parts onto the crumpled front end of the car. Busch finally returned to the racetrack 45 laps down. David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
Kyle Busch’s car was a mangled mess early in the LifeLock 400, thanks to the man who will replace him at Hendrick Motorsports next season.
Busch slammed the backstretch wall head on in the No. 5 Chevy after being bumped from behind by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 29. Terry Blount, ESPN.com
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