Kyle Busch’s race Sunday went about as poorly as possible and was the exact opposite of what the defending NASCAR Cup Series champ needed for his still-winless 2020 season.
Busch started fifth at the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but, unfortunately for him and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team, their day ended barely after it began.
Running as high as fourth early on, Busch had a flat right front tire and slammed hard into the Turn 3 wall. He was in sixth when he crashed, per NBC Sports’ broadcast, which was on a commercial break during the incident. He completed just 15 of 301 scheduled laps.
.@KyleBusch will have to wait another week for another chance to win in 2020.
He's out after crashing hard into the Turn 3 wall at @NHMS. @NASCAR is live on NBCSN: https://t.co/wKDI0aNMYn pic.twitter.com/WiGLgR7f6y
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 2, 2020
Unsurprisingly, Busch was upset after crashing out so early — as any driver would be — and reacted on his team’s radio channel, via The Athletic‘s Jordan Bianchi:
"Let's f***ing go home," –Kyle Busch
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) August 2, 2020
The No. 18 team’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, wasn’t too pleased either and directed his frustration at Goodyear tires.
"Let's find somebody from Goodyear and send them to my f***ing garage." –Adam Stevens, Kyle Busch's crew chief
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) August 2, 2020
Busch was evaluated and released from the infield care center, and afterward, he explained what happened:
“I blew a right-front tire for some reason. I have no idea why. Way too early in the going for anything to be wrong or even to build enough brake temp or brake heat. I don’t know. Just hate it for our Pedigree team and the fight that we’ve been having this year seems to be continuing.
“Last time I was here in a Pedigree car, we blew a right-front tire for no reason as well too. Just seems to be our luck with the Pedigree scheme for some reason here at New Hampshire. It’s still 2020, but sooner or later we have to turn this stuff around.”
"It's still 2020."@KyleBusch's day ends early at @NHMS. Hear from the @JoeGibbsRacing driver after crashing out. pic.twitter.com/IDB3ccb0AS
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 2, 2020
And in an interview with NBC Sports, Busch detailed his reaction, saying:
“Just going down the backstretch there and about halfway down the backstretch, I felt it go flat and tried to get enough slowing down done without taking everybody else running over me behind me down the straightaway.”
The biggest on-track surprise this season continues to be Busch in the winless category through the season’s first 20 races.
He entered Sunday’s New Hampshire race 12th in the driver standings, which is four spots above the postseason cutoff mark. But to guarantee he’ll have a chance to defend his title, he’ll need to win one of the next six races. Otherwise, he’ll have to hope to be among the top-16 drivers based on regular-season points accumulated in the standings.
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