Hometown favorite Kyle Busch watched his hopes for a victory go up in flames as his car caught fire on Lap 108 in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400.
Busch, who entered the race the Sprint Cup points leader, was one of the fastest cars on the track in the early stages of the race.
But on Lap 96, Busch cut a tire and was forced to pit. “(There was) no warning, no vibration, it just went down,“ Busch said.
He restarted 14th on Lap 102 but lasted just six more laps.
“Load it up boys,” Busch said from the track. “There are flames in my face.”
“I’ve been blowing tires, mowing grass, knocking walls down and setting balls of fire down the backstretch and (his brother) Kurt (Busch) has been doing ‘loop-de-doos’ through Turn 4 today," Kyle Busch added. "We’re having problems of our own in our hometown — it might be good just to get out of here and come back and try again next year.”
The team diagnosed the problem as an engine issue.
Earlier in the weekend, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin also experienced engine issues. Hamlin’s crew changed engines and the driver started from the rear of the field for the race.
It was the third time this season JGR experienced issues. Hamlin changed engines at Daytona before the qualifying race and Joey Logano’s engine failed last week at Phoenix.
“Obviously we have some sort of problem that we can get through and work around," Kyle Busch said. "We’re trying to make the best horsepower we can to keep up with some other teams that we know have better horsepower than we do. The guys keep trying to find every ounce they can, and unfortunately sometimes we push the limits. The pieces that break sometimes are smaller than your pinkie fingernail. It’s hard on them.”
