Kyle Busch's second crash came after making contact with Clint Bowyer. Credit: AP

Busch's Chase debut ruined by pair of wrecks

Second-year driver falls to 10th in standings with 38th-place finish

LOUDON, N.H. -- This was not the Chase debut Kyle Busch had in mind.

Busch crashed twice and finished 38th in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, causing him to fall from fourth to 10th place in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Kyle Busch fell to 10th in the Chase standings. Credit: Autostock

Sylvania 300 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kevin Harvick Chevy 2. Tony Stewart Chevy 3. Jeff Gordon Chevy 4. Denny Hamlin Chevy 5. Brian Vickers Chevy 6. Elliott Sadler Dodge 7. Jeff Burton Chevy 8. J.J. Yeley Chevy 9. Dave Blaney Dodge 10. Matt Kenseth Ford • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Tough racingKyle Busch crashes into the wall and takes a spin Early cautionKyle Busch involved in a spin bringing out the first caution Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

The crashes were especially maddening for Busch because they occurred at Loudon, where Busch won in July. The flat racetracks have traditionally been Busch's best tracks, and he was counting on Loudon and Phoenix to serve as his trump cards in the 10-race Chase.

"That just means we can't do [poorly] at Talladega now," said Busch, who fell 146 points behind new series points leader Kevin Harvick. "I don't know what to do."

The finish mirrored the experience of his brother Kurt, who crashed in the opening minutes of this race in 2005. The elder Kurt's title hopes never recovered, and Kyle knows that the finish puts him in serious hole.

Like Kurt in 2005, Kyle's problems started in the opening laps.

On Lap 3, Busch was racing Jeff Green on the frontstretch when the two collided, sending Green hard into the inside retaining wall. The run-in sent Busch into the outside wall, bending the right side of his Chevrolet.

The impact destroyed Green's Chevrolet, and he said that Busch could have given him more room that early in the race.

"You know, [Kyle] evidently didn't see me or thought I was going to back off," Green said. "I was all the way up to his right-rear tire on the outside off of [Turn] 4. [He] run me into the fence and someone hit me in the back and turned me around.

"It started with [Kyle]. Those guys are in the Chase and I am happy for them, but they have to give us room to race, too. It killed my racecar."

Busch later seemed remorseful of the incident.

"I don't know if [Green] got a good run off the corner, but I did get cleared by my spotter," Busch said. "I moved up and I guess there wasn't room there."

The damage was not fatal on Busch's car, but the crash did cause him to fall off the lead lap while repairs were made.

Busch got his lap back when Joe Nemechek crashed on Lap 28. But several lengthy green-flag runs dropped him a lap down again.

"It was a slow, steady progress because that was all we could do because we got so far behind," Busch said. "You know, that long run we never had any cautions and we were in lucky dog position for over 50 laps and just never get the caution to put us back on the lead lap."

Just after halfway, being mired in heavy traffic ruined the day.

Clint Bowyer got loose in Turn 4 on Lap 202 and bounced into Busch, sending him into the wall with major damage. He spent 20 laps in the garage before getting back out to run laps for points, although he leaves Loudon last among the Chasers.

"It is going to be another tough nine races and we could have made it a lot easier having to come out of here good," Busch said, "but knowing we already burned up what we needed to save we are kind of screwed."