Kurt Busch’s Record Streak Ends in Late Bristol Crash

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

Kurt Busch saw his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record-setting run of finishes on the lead lap to start a season end at 22 following a crash on lap 373 in Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion had taken the lead from Joey Logano when the back of the car stepped out and spun, ending Busch’s day with a 38^th-place finish. The wreck caused a gaggle of drivers to be collected in its wake, including Brad Keselowski, who was running third at the time, along with Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth and Paul Menard.

NASCAR officials were ready to give Busch a penalty for jumping the restart prior to the accident.

The 38-year-old Las Vegas native took responsibility for the incident, mentioning that he made a mistake and simply just overdrove the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS.

“I think I just missed the bottom groove by a few inches, got loose and the wreck was on,” said Busch. “The way that our car was restarting it felt comfortable, it felt good. That inside with the rosin and the VHT if you don’t hit it exactly right you lose a lot of time.

“I tried to make up for it and got loose. I feel really bad for the Monster Energy guys. We had a win in our sights and I just drove the car at 101 percent instead of that 99.”