A tire suddenly blowing gave Kyle Busch little hope to avoid crashing in Sunday’s Daytona 500, and the result was a multi-car accident that also sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Erik Jones.
2017 Daytona 500: Crash sidelines Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch
Earnhardt, making his first official start since returning from a concussion, was uninjured in the accident.
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Busch was running a lap down and in line with Toyota teammates Kenseth and Jones after completing a green-flag pit stop when his tire lost pressure entering Turn 3 as Earnhardt, who was on the lead lap, attempted to pass them. With Busch spinning up the track, Kenseth, Jones, and Earnhardt had no avenue to escape and piled in.
All drivers involved were uninjured.
Busch had won the first Daytona 500 segment and was well positioned to win the overall race. Earnhardt, who started on the outside pole, had also emerged as a strong contender to win his third Daytona 500.
“Nothing that we did wrong,” Busch said. “You know obviously Goodyear tires just aren’t very good at holding air. It’s very frustrating when we have that down here every single year we’ve been here. Last year, we had it as well, too. It wrecked us in practice and tore up a car.”
Busch said he had been experiencing tire vibrations throughout Speedweeks and it’s an issue his No. 18 routinely encounters at Daytona. Last summer, he also crashed due to a tire-related problem during practice for the July Daytona race.
“Nothing that I did wrong,” Busch said. “These Goodyear tires aren’t very good at holding air, so it’s very frustrating when you’re trying to win a Daytona 500 and you gotta rely on other people and they don’t do a good job.”
A Goodyear spokesman refuted Busch’s claim that the tire failed, saying Busch most likely ran over a piece of debris or had a fender puncture it. The spokesman also said the company was not aware of the No. 18 team’s recent tire issues.
Earnhardt was making his first official start since returning from a concussion sustained after crashing during a June 12 race at Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR’s most popular driver missed the entire second half of the 36-race Monster Energy Cup Series schedule rehabilitating. He was medically cleared to return following a medically supervised mid-December test at Darlington Raceway.
Earnhardt described Sunday’s accident as not “that hard” and said he’s looking forward to next weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“Luckily the hit wasn’t that hard and we’ll be able to get to Atlanta and compete again,” Earnhardt said. “It’s going to be a fun season and we’ve got pretty high spirits. This was not the result we wanted today; but like I say, it’s been a great week.”
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