The start of the final stage got off to an eventful start to Sunday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Shortly after the restart on lap 218 of 334, race leader Ryan Blaney lost the race at Turn 4, causing the field behind him to accumulate. As drivers shifted to the three-width position through the trioval, Aric Almirola slashed Kyle Busch, causing Busch to slide to the rear of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr.
Truex’s No. 19 Toyota crashed into the outer wall on the main straight while Busch flew threw the grass into the frame to save the No. 18 Toyota.
“KFB,” Busch said after the race, sincerely acknowledging his talent when asked how he was able to drive through the grass without significant damage during the incident.
That caused one more accordion effect on the field as drivers tried to avoid the incident. The accident brought together 12 cars in total, including Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, William Byron, Kurt Busch, Cole Custer, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Bubba Wallace.
Truex was able to continue the race after the repairs, limping his car to 32nd place. Busch, the defending champion who has yet to claim a win or playoff points with eight races remaining in the regular season, recovered to finish fourth.
