LONG POND, Pa. -- When Kyle Busch set out to execute his history-making feat by racing in three NASCAR series events in three different states in three consecutive days, crashing both his Sprint Cup cars and losing 121 points of his lead in the top series was not on the travel itinerary.

On the last leg of his racing trifecta at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Busch made a costly mistake early in the Pocono 500 and made contact with the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray. On Lap 46, Busch came off Turn 3 and squeezed McMurray as they crossed the start-finish line; he lost control and hit the wall (watch video).

The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing machine went straight to the garage where crew members toiled for at least two hours trying to repair right-front fender and internal damage on Busch's car.

On Lap 130, Busch returned to the track in an effort to pick up points, 83 laps down. At the finish of the race, only 21 points remained between Busch and second-place driver Jeff Burton in the point standings (watch video).

Busch laid partial blame on his spotter, Jeff Dickerson. Busch said his spotter "didn't say anything," an indication that the spot was clear for the taking. He also said his rear-view mirror broke before the race started.

"We broke the mirror trying to adjust it there before the race and [I] couldn't see anything out my right-rear quarter-panel. So, I couldn't clear myself," Busch said. "The spotter didn't say anything so I apologize to McMurray for wrecking their day, but it sucks."

Explanations aside, Busch's starting position didn't help his cause.

The driver crashed his primary car during the final moments of the first of two practices Saturday, forcing the team to work on a backup car. And a new car meant a new starting position; his top-10 qualifying position was forfeited for a spot in the back of the field.

Much media and hype surrounded Busch throughout the weekend and even the days leading up to him becoming the first driver to race in all three of NASCAR's national series at three different tracks; a voyage that began with practice and qualifying at Pocono on Friday, followed by a Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas that night, Cup practice on Saturday followed by a trip that afternoon to Nashville for the Nationwide Series, and finally ending with his last-place finish in Sunday's Pocono 500.

Realistically speaking, Busch said he didn't expect to win all three races, but he did expect to run well in all three.

When he announced his tri-state exploit earlier this week, many in the garage began to speculate if running all three events would be too taxing on the driver, but throughout the weekend, Busch dismissed the concerns and carried on as if the weekend was business as usual. He rested up, ate balanced meals and had a private jet to fly him to and from in a more-than timely manner.

The final act made for a long day for Busch and the 18 team, whose crew chief said the guys will try to put Pocono behind them.

"That's all we can do, we've had a great year," Steve Addington said. "You can't sit here and dwell on one weekend. Not a whole lot we can do about it. All we can do is get ready to go to Michigan and be prepared when we get there."

Jeff Gordon, a former teammate of Busch at Hendrick Motorsports, didn't think too wisely of the driver's decision to over-extend himself.

"I pretty much found out early on in my Cup career that putting 100 percent of my effort into the Cup Series and into this team is what gave me the best results," Gordon said. "He's a very talented and young driver and he's obviously got the energy to go out and do that. ... There's a reason why nobody else has done it or is doing it."

Tony Stewart, Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, had the opposite reaction.

"I think it's awesome," he said. "It's definitely going to be physically demanding just from the wear and tear of just sitting in the airplanes even. It's going to be physically challenging on you. There's a reason they call it jet lag. I think it's pretty cool. I applaud him. It shows his commitment to all three of these teams and to what he wants to do as a racecar driver."