BROOKLYN, Mich. — This was exactly the kind of scenario Kyle Busch needs to avoid.
Busch slid onto the grass after coming through a turn during NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday, damaging his No. 18 Toyota.
SUNDAY'S RACE
WHO: Pure Michigan 400
WHERE: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
DISTANCE: 200 laps, 400 miles
TELEVISION: 2:30 p.m., NBCSN
He returned to the track in a backup car, but he now faces the prospect of having to start from the back Sunday in the 400-mile, 200-lap race at Michigan International Speedway.
“I was just running along, everything was fine and I was actually feeling pretty good about it,” Busch said. “Just started to get a little free up off of (turn) four.”
Busch has won four times this year, but he’s only 30th in points because he missed 11 races after breaking his right leg and left foot in February.
He needs to be in the top 30 at the end of the regular season to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and right now he’s six points ahead of 31st-place Cole Whitt.
In other words, he needs to avoid major mistakes during these last four races of the regular season. Busch was sixth in qualifying Friday, but going to the backup car will force him to start from the back in Sunday’s race.
“If top 20 is it, then that’s it,” Busch said. “Michigan is not a place that I had circled on the list to go win at, so let’s just make it through (Sunday) and carry on.”
There was damage to the front of Busch’s car after he went onto the grass. The Joe Gibbs Racing star has said in the past he thinks there’s no reason to have grass near racing surfaces, and he addressed the issue again Saturday – with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“I think at all these racetracks we need more grass – I think more grass would be beneficial,” Busch said. “I think we should have more grass and it should be taller.”
TRUCKS: Busch passed Ryan Blaney with four laps remaining and won at Michigan International Speedway.
The victory came after he was penalized on Lap 27 for speeding on pit road.
After being sent to the rear, he made his way all the way back in his No. 51 Toyota and battled with Blaney through the final few laps.
“These trucks tend to put on a good show,” Busch said. “You can kind of draft back up on guys and use the bottom, use the top, kind of work around a little bit.”
Blaney took the lead with six laps remaining after a restart, but Busch eventually moved back in front for his 44th victory on the series.
He has won each of his two Truck starts this year.
Busch is now seven wins shy of Ron Hornaday Jr.’s career record for the series. It was Busch’s first Truck victory at Michigan in nine starts.
After breaking his right leg and left foot in February, Busch has come back and won four Cup races. He also has won a couple Xfinity races, and he is unbeaten on the Truck series.
Erik Jones finished third in his No. 4 Toyota in Saturday’s 100-lap, 200-mile race. Jones and Busch are teammates for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and Blaney said that was a factor toward the end.
“When we got the lead, I knew it was going to be hard to keep (Busch) behind us,” Blaney said. “He can lay back to the 4 and just get a big run and get by you. There’s nothing as a leader you can do about it.”
Blaney finished 0.157 seconds behind.
Points leader Tyler Reddick finished ninth.
Pole winner Matt Crafton finished sixth and now trails Reddick by eight points in the standings.
XFINITY: Regan Smith bumped his way past Alex Tagliani in the Carousel a turn from the finish to win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Driving for JR Motorsports, Smith raced to his first victory of the year and fifth overall.
Tagliani and defending champion Chris Buescher had the two strongest cars early, but both elected to pit on the eighth lap when the first of a track-record eight cautions flew. The leaders pitted a final time just beyond the midway point on lap 43 during the fifth yellow.
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