(By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service)
Posted: Monday,September 26th, 2011
LOUDON, N.H.—Kurt Busch was on pit road after driver introductions for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but there was a problem—his car wasn’t.
The rear end of Busch’s No. 22 Dodge was outside of NASCAR’s tolerances, and Busch’s crew had to fix the problem before NASCAR allowed the team to push the car onto the grid.
Team members pushed the car the length of pit road to the fifth starting spot just in time to fire the engine.
To compound the problem, the car didn’t handle to Busch’s liking, and he dropped five positions almost as soon as the race started. Though he led four laps during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Busch finished 22nd, one lap down, and fell to ninth in the standings, 28 points behind back-to-back winner Tony Stewart.
Officials and the crew of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge driven by Kurt Busch (not pictured stand next to the #22 car after it finished a late prerace inspection as a jet performs a flyover during the performance of the National Anthem prior to the start of the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2011 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images for NASCAR)
“It was a frustrating day,” Busch said. “Our Shell Pennzoil Dodge was certainly a handful. The front tires felt like they were on skids, and the car was plowing through the corners. We were late going through inspection, and that set the tone for our day.
“We were able to stay out and lead some laps under green, and (crew chief) Steve Addington and the guys kept making changes and got our Dodge better by the end of the race. I just wish we could have started the race with the car that good.”
With the inspection issues Busch had, that would have been unlikely.
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