DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — On a day when he was hoping to learn as much as possible for next weekend’s ‘Great American Race’, Kurt Busch saw his Sunday morning end in a mangled heap at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Busch was riding on the fringe of the top 10 during a matinee edition of the Advance Auto Parts Clash when reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson’s car snapped loose off the exit of turn four. Johnson slid down into Busch and hooked the No. 41 Ford straight into the outside wall, causing race-ending damage to Busch’s car.
In a bit of ironic fashion, Busch’s Monster Energy-sponsored car became the first casualty of an accident in the newly-renamed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The 2004 Cup champion was looking for his second Clash victory, after a win in the 2011 edition of the invitational event for pole winners driving for Team Penske.
“I didn’t notice the track getting more free … it’s the daytime, and we were all set up for the night, so you have to anticipate that guys are going to have more ill-handling cars,” Busch said after being released from the infield care center.
“I was on the low lane, just minding my own business, and it’s just a shame that we got tagged in the right rear there. All the hard work by all the guys and by Doug Yates, tuning on the engine … they’re building fast cars and (it’s all for nothing because) we’re wrecked.”
Busch said the short stint gave he and his team very little data to work with ahead of the 59th annual Daytona 500 (Feb. 26, 1 p.m., FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).
“We didn’t even get to do a pit stop. We didn’t even get to change the handling of the car. We really didn’t learn much today, but we did help the ambulance service (practice) with the new (safety) protocol … so everything worked out alright,” Busch quipped.
The Clash was Busch and Stewart Haas Racing’s first official outing as a Ford team, following their shock announcement of a pending switch to the ‘Blue Ovals’ last February.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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