Kyle Busch forced to backup at Pocono after wreck

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Kyle Busch forced to backup at Pocono after wreck

LONG POND, Pa. -- NASCAR points leader Kyle Busch, attempting to run in three national series races this weekend, will start the last of them from the rear.

Busch wrecked his car during practice Saturday at Pocono Raceway and had to go to a backup, meaning he will start form the back of the field in Sunday's race.

He lost control of his Toyota as he apparently headed toward pit road with just about two minutes left in the first practice session. The car spun down the service road and tagged the inside retaining wall.

The crumpled car puttered back to the garage, where his Joe Gibbs Racing crew was already on top of the team transporter pulling out a backup. Busch, who qualified 10th and posted the third-fastest speed of the practice session, briskly headed inside the truck and stayed inside while his crew prepared the new car.

Once the backup was race-ready, Busch took it out on the track and posted the 16th fastest speed of the final practice session. His new Toyota is a brand new car that was the backup in Richmond and ran a portion of the test at Pocono two weeks ago.

Afterward, Busch sprinted past waiting reporters, entered his hauler, then slipped away through a front door where he was picked up by a waiting golf cart, ESPN's Angelique Chengelis reported. He then went to the track helicopter pad, where he also wouldn't grant interviews.

But his crew chief, Steve Addington, said Busch simply got loose.

"The car got a little bit loose off [Turn 3] and then he tried to just turn down pit road and spun out and tore the front end up on the car," Addington said. "It was the transition off the [new pavement patch in Turn 3] onto the race track and onto the old asphalt and it just got a little loose on him. He thought he was going to save it and didn't. It was just a mistake, and he's sorry about that."

Busch is trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to race in all three national series at three different race tracks on the same weekend. He practiced and qualified the Cup car at Pocono on Friday, then flew to Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished second in the Truck Series race.

He was back at Pocono on Saturday for two practice sessions, then planned to head to Nashville for the Nationwide Series event. He'll be back in Pocono on Sunday, when he'll race for his fifth Cup win of the year.

Addington said Busch's attempt at a "Triple Crown" weekend had nothing to do with the accident.

"It didn't have a thing to do with this. We came in and had a little time left on the practice clock and we wanted to try to make a change and it freed the car up and it got it loose off the corner there," Addington said. "It wasn't nothing that has anything to do with his racing in Texas, Pocono and Nashville."

Spanning all three series, Busch already has collected 10 victories this year.

Busch wasn't the only one to lose control Saturday. Clint Bowyer spun in the opening minutes of the second practice session, and Sam Hornish Jr. lost control of his car when it dipped into the grass. Both cars were damaged, but only Hornish needed a backup.

"We weren't good in practice all day," Hornish said. "We were trying a lot of different things to make it better. I just got loose going into Turn 1 and lost it. We tore up the front end a bit."

[82 5A State Champs]

I heard them saying that strip of asphalt had the ability to make cars loose and tight when making the transition from concrete. It'll be interesting to see how it affects the race......especially if it rains and washes all the rubber off the track. A green track at Pocono could be a bad recipe for........well, it could be bad!