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A severe crash before the third stage of the All-Star Race knocked out Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Chase Elliott on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Busch had already won the first stage and was leading at the 1.44-mile-long track. However, on lap 47, his No.18 Toyota wiggled off Turn 4 with the right rear tire down and his car began to slow down the frontstretch.
Chastain, who was running in the lower lane, was unlucky as he slammed into Busch’s car and went airborne. His No.1 Chevrolet then skidded into the back of Elliott’s car, sending the Hendrick Motorsports driver's car into the Turn 1 wall. As a result, all three drivers were eliminated from the race.
Kyle Busch’s early exit from the race resulted in his second DNF of the season. Speaking to the media, he expressed his disappointment over not winning the $1 million cash prize. He said:
“Just got a flat tire off of (Turn) 4, right rear is flat. We had a really fast race car, great race car, led all the laps to that point, obviously. Disappointing to not be able to finish it out and go race for a million bucks.”
Speaking to the media just after the crash, Ross Chastain admitted that he was unable to avoid Busch's slow-moving car as he picked the wrong lane, which triggered a crash that removed both drivers from Sunday’s race.
He said:
“I saw Kyle [Busch] have an issue like a tire down and I guessed left and I should have guessed right. Big hits. Big hit into Kyle. Didn’t think the wall would hurt as bad as it did when I hit the wall.”
“I saw (Kyle Busch) have a problem and (Ross Chastain) hit him really hard”- Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott said that he saw that the No.18 Toyota Camry had a problem, so he saved himself from the initial impact, but then Ross Chastain’s car hit it really hard.
He said:
“I saw [Busch] have a problem and [Chastain] hit him really hard and I just didn’t give him enough room. I knew he was going to go straight. I just didn’t realize he was going to go that far right that quick. I just kind of misjudged it. Really avoidable on my end. I kind of messed up and didn’t get the gap shot quick enough.”
Catch Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain next weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29, 2022.
