Kyle Busch will have to come from the rear of the field for the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series playoff race after hitting the wall in practice at Kansas Speedway.
Busch made heavy contact with the Turn 4 wall after blowing a right rear tire in Turn 4. He did not attempt a qualifying lap as the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team began making repairs to his Chevrolet.
“Just like every other weekend – always put in a hole, always put behind, always have to come and dig ourselves out,” Busch said. “Hate it for all the guys; the car was really good. We had good longevity there. We were just running laps and running some pretty good laps compared to the rest of our group that we were with at that time. Was just going to fine-tune some things in order to get ready for qualifying, and here we are starting last again.
“Just never ends. I don’t know what to do to change it. Hate it, again, for our Casey’s General Stores guys; got a lot of work ahead of us tonight, but we’ll do it.”
Busch was 21st fastest overall in practice.
A week ago, Busch also hit the wall in practice ahead of the postseason opener at Darlington Raceway. He was able to make a qualifying lap in Darlington, good enough for 11th fastest, but had to move to the rear of the field because of the repairs. He finished 11th.
Busch is a two-time winner at Kansas Speedway, doing so in the spring of 2016 and 2021. In his last three Kansas races, however, he has one top-five finish and two finishes outside the top 25.
The two-time Cup Series champion is seventh on the playoff grid with a 20-point advantage on the cutline.