Just 15 laps after his younger brother Kyle wrecked out of Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, older brother Kurt Busch was a victim of a different wreck.
The elder Busch spun from the lead on Lap 373. Brad Keselowski couldn’t avoid Busch’s No. 41 Chevrolet. Also being collected in the wreck were Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Larson.
“I just missed the bottom groove by a few inches and drove the car at 101 percent, it got loose, and it was away from me,” Busch told NBC Sports on CNBC. “I should have had it at the 99 percent level. If you don’t hit that resin exactly right, you lose a lot of speed.
“I hate it for the guys. I put it on the edge to try to win and overstepped the line.”
Sunday’s finish marks the first race this season that Busch failed to finish, as well as the first race he didn’t finish on the lead lap.
Keselowski said he couldn’t avoid Busch’s spinning car.
“Something happened to the 41 in front of us, and he got sideways,” Keselowski said. “I don’t know if he made contact with Joey (Logano) or just got loose.
“Once he got sideways, we were already digging. It was a heavy hit. I hope Kurt’s alright. It’s a shame. We had gotten it up towards the front (of the field). We were hoping the race would play out that way at the end where we’d have a shot at it … It’s a bummer day for us.”
Kenseth’s car was knocked out of the race by the damage, but Keselowski and Kurt Busch still were hoping to have their cars repaired and to rejoin the race.
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