NEWTON, Iowa — Kyle Busch had just posted the second-fastest lap in Group A in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Iowa Speedway when calamity struck.
On his 18th circuit of the session, Busch drove hard into Turn 1, but his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet lurched out of control and slammed nose-first into the outside wall.
With the car destroyed, Busch will start Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) from the rear of the field in a backup car.
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Busch said he was trying to build more security into the rear of the car.
“Anywhere I would push it a little harder, I would feel rear chatter,” Busch said. “I felt really good about the changes that we made there, came out of Turn 4 really hot and heavy and hard on it and went off into Turn 1 with too much trust and chattered the right rear and wrecked it.
“I’m not real sure how to find more trust when you feel something good in one corner, and it’s not there in the next.”
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In danger of missing the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the second straight year, Busch almost certainly must win one of the next four races to qualify for the postseason. He’s 81 points below the current elimination line.