Kyle Busch reported that he sprained his left wrist in a crash during the recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite this injury, he indicated he won’t need a relief driver for Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway.
Busch commented, “Grip it and rip it,” while sporting a bandage on his wrist during post-qualifying interviews on Saturday. He explained that the steering wheel jolted during the crash involving his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the Brickyard 400 on July 21. Although he experienced pain, he confirmed that nothing was broken and he feels better now. “Without two weeks off, I wouldn’t have been able to race,” Busch admitted.
Busch will start 12th in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (6 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which is his best starting position since qualifying seventh at Iowa Speedway on June 16.
This season has been challenging for Busch, who is currently 112 points behind the cutoff for the playoffs with only four races left to determine the 16-driver field. He has not finished five of the last eight races and has dropped to 18th in the standings.
Dillon, who narrowly missed making the final round of qualifying, secured the sixth starting spot, his second-best qualifying result of the year.
After a two-week break for NBC’s coverage of Snoop Dogg and the Olympics, NASCAR Cup Series teams were back in action at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday. Austin Dillon, seeking positive results, showed notable speed in practice and qualifying, finishing fourth fastest.
However, Denny Hamlin, a local from Virginia and winner of this season’s first Richmond race, clinched the pole position.
