Kyle Busch's Pennzoil 400 outing did not go according to plan, as a costly dash against the walls led to a loose wheel and potential suspensions for the crew. Richard Childress Racing is set to replace the crew members as they have already lined up replacements.
Kyle Busch's homecoming wasn't initially as much of a letdown as he qualified in the fourth postion in the second row and even led the race for four laps in stage one. But, the race took a turn during a green flag pit stop where the RCR #8 was penalized for exceeding the speed limit on pit road. He restarted the race at the end of the field and his race worsened on Lap 113 when his right rear wheel came off shortly after pit stop.
This led Busch to crash into the wall causing damage to his brake lines as he managed to return to pit road and was able to restart 36 laps behind. NASCAR regulations mandate a two-race suspension for the crew chief and two crew members for such incidents. NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass informed fans about the imminent replacements on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:
"Kyle Busch team has listed its replacements on its roster for the anticipated two race suspensions for the wheel coming off at Vegas. Rear changer Chris Jackson (who currently does the Matt DiBenedetto car in Xfinity), jack Garrett Crall (does Kris Wright car in Xfinity)."
NASCAR remains firm on safety rules but is yet to confirm the suspensions. Las Vegas has seen plenty of such instances in the past. The Pennzoil 400 on Sunday saw a chaotic race with nine cautions, 32 lead changes, and multiple tire-related incidents. Busch had earlier talked about the challenges on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his pre-race press conference.
"I would say Vegas is challenging just because of the time of the year. We're coming off a winter time for this race, so the track reacts differently versus the fall race here you're coming off a summer time. The summer heat, the ground being hotter, the track being different, the bumps being different. So just kind of getting accustomed to all of those things and getting re-acclimated with all of that," he said (via SpeedFreaks).
After returning to the track Busch finished in 33rd place behind RCR teammate Austin Dillon at 32, and 35 laps behind winner Josh Berry.
Kyle Busch looks ahead in the "right direction"
While his home return did not go according to the plans, Kyle Busch remains positive ahead of the next race at the Straight Talk Wireless 400. Kyle Busch recently retweeted a NASCAR post mentioning the fact that every winner so far this year has a surname that starts with the letter 'B'. Busch with the same initial in his last name aims to bounce back next Sunday, March 24.
The two-time NASCAR Cup winner has had a dominating presence at the Homestead Miami Speedway. He has already won twice at the superspeedway (2015, 2019) along with five top-fives and an additional six top-ten finishes.