Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Busch hits the wall hard during practice, drives backward to pit road

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 4/13/24

Fresh off his Craftsman Truck Series victory last night, Kyle Busch is having a bit of a rough morning on the Cup Series side of things. The two-time NASCAR champion found himself in the wall with significant damage during practice.

Of course, Kyle Busch did what he does best, drive backward to pit road. The No. 8 car is snakebit right now and there doesn’t appear to be an answer in sight. RCR has been in a freefall this season.

Busch reported that he was driving great for a couple of laps and then, the car just went super tight on him and he lost it. Up in smoke and into the wall. Rowdy was released from the infield care center soon after the incident.

Not the way Friday night's winner wanted to start his Saturday. pic.twitter.com/yvFQ2RTd5q
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 13, 2024

Things have just not gone the way this team wanted them to go. 2024 has been a disaster. This is the same team that won three races last season, mind you. It isn’t like Busch has fallen off in talent in just a few months.

Let’s not even talk about Austin Dillon and his performance this season. A season-best finish of P16 at Las Vegas and nothing better than P24 in the last five races since then. There is a lot going on at RCR, and none of it has been good lately.

Kyle Busch going to a backup car

Given the damage that Kyle Busch took in practice, he is going to have to go to a backup car. He likely won’t make a qualifying lap at all and will instead start in the back of the field for Sunday. It’s going to be a long, hot day in Texas.

On the season, Busch has just a single top-5 and a single top-10 finish to his record. His last two races have been P20 and P16, respectively. At two tracks he should be among the best at, Richmond and Martinsville.

Texas is another one of Rowdy’s playgrounds. He has four Cup Series wins at the track, six Truck Series wins, and 10 Xfinity Series wins at Texas Motor Speedway. If he can’t be competitive here, even in a backup car, then there is a serious issue going on beyond the driver.

Kyle Busch is going to try and salvage his weekend. Given the poor start to the season, anything inside the top-10 will be a great finish. It just feels like there are no answers in sight when it comes to Busch and his issues on the track.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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