No. 18 driver: ‘We were gonna have a great finish today’
DOVER, Del. — In Kyle Busch‘s second points race since sustaining severe leg injuries at Daytona, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver finds himself back in the in-field care center after colliding with Brian Scott during Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
But thankfully this time, Busch was able to greet the media on two feet.
“I guess Brian Scott‘s spotter … he didn’t say I was underneath him and he dropped the corner on me and just got me sideways and there was no saving it from there and we wrecked,” Busch said after exiting the in-field care center.
Busch was trying to get around Scott, who was three laps down at the time, when the two drivers collided in Turn 3.
“Man, we had a really good run going obviously — we ran in the top-five all day long,” Busch said. “I hate it. I hate it for my guys, I hate it for Skittles, everybody that’s worked so hard. That’s not what we need, we need good finishes. We were gonna have a great finish today. We weren’t gonna win, but it’s not our time yet.”
When asked if his legs were OK Busch responded by saying, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Scott took to Twitter after the race to apologize to Busch.
I apologize to @KyleBusch, his sponsors, his team, his fans, and all of JGR. 100% my fault, I didn’t know he was underneath me until 2 late.
— Brian Scott (@bscottracing) May 31, 2015
With Busch out for the first 11 points races of 2015, the Toyota driver has no mulligans to give if he wants a chance at a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field. In order for him to get into the top 30 in points following Dover, Busch would have had to have an average finish of at least 16th at the “Monster Mile.” Busch ultimately finished 36th, which dropped him back to 40th in the standings. Busch now has 13 races to earn himself a win and a spot in the top 30.
Since returning to racing, Busch has posted a sixth-place finish in the Sprint All-Star Race — the No. 18 driver’s first race back — and an 11th-place finish in last week’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Next week Busch heads to Pocono Raceway where he’s still winless in 20 starts. The JGR driver has four top-fives and seven top-10s at the Pennsylvania track.