NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Busch's car catches fire after engine lets go

Published Jun. 12, 2016 2:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

For the fourth consecutive race, reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will finish 30th or worse in a Cup race.

On Lap 53 of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the engine in Busch's No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota appeared to let go, with flames and smoke from the front end of the car.

In the three previous races, Busch finished 31st at Pocono, 33rd at Charlotte and 30th at Dover. But with three victories to his credit already, Busch is locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

"At least I had a 30-lap warning that it was coming," said Busch. "It'd just been shaking really bad and going south for a while, building its own heat."

Busch said the team needs to recapture its early season form.

"Unfortunate. Not just today, but the last four races have been really, really bad," said Busch. "It's a good thing we started off the season as good as we did. ... We got to get this luck turned around and get going in the right direction."