Kyle Busch switches to backup car after crash in practice

A crash in the opening minutes of practice Friday will place Kyle Busch in a backup car for Sunday’s playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Busch, one of eight drivers remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, got loose exiting Turn 4 on his initial lap and pancaked the outside wall. The contact damaged the right front area on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota, necessitating a change to a backup car. He was driving a brand-new car specifically built for this weekend’s race, the second of three events in the semifinal round of NASCAR’s elimination-style playoff.

“Speeds are really high here at Texas and when you lose that grip, typically it happens in a hurry and just kind of got away from me there,” Busch said. “Wish that I would have had maybe taken it a little easy, but I really wasn’t even trying that hard to be honest with you. Just kind of a shock that that happened.”

Busch, the defending series champion, will not have to drop to the rear for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 because the crash occurred before qualifying.

After the changeover to the backup, Busch resumed practicing an hour later. He posted the 22nd-fastest lap (193.002 mph) in the 85-minute session. Kevin Harvick’s lap of 196.685 mph led the 40-driver field.

“Going to a backup car, I don’t think it is going to hurt us any,” Busch said. “... All in all, I know we have a strong group and a great group of guys that will dig in as deep as they need to in order to make sure we can prepare to get ourselves back to where we need to be to be competitive this weekend.”