Kurt Busch’s magical month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has taken a hit.
The former NASCAR champion slammed the Turn 2 wall with the right side of the Andretti Autosport car at 1:35 p.m. today
Busch got out of the car under his own power.
Busch was following a group of cars in race-preparation practice when the car wiggled and then shot to the wall as he tried to save it from crashing. It was a big hit.
“Settling into the race trim and the draft and the tows that you get and I was starting to feel comfortable,” he said. “Maybe that’s where I made the mistake of letting my guard down or settling into that long-run-type of mentality whereas with an Indy car you have to be on edge. You have to keep track of where you are at all times and the adjustments in the car.
“Maybe I didn’t keep up with keeping the car underneath me. Trying to get into that rhythm and feel other things around you and I got behind on my adjustments in the car.”
Moyer said the team has spare cars back at the shop on Zionsville Road.
Busch, a rookie in this Indianapolis 500 field, is scheduled to start 12th in Sunday’s 500, but this car would seem to be destroyed. Team manager Kyle Moyer put the possible rebuilding of the car at “50-50.” Using another car in this circumstance will not cost Busch his position.
“It’s nice to have (time this week to rebound),” Busch said. “We still have Carb Day to shake things down and get back in the groove. (It) just created a lot of work for the Andretti guys; I feel bad for that.
“As a rookie there’s things that you learn and put it up on the edge and get away with, and there are times when it will bite you. And so, it’s just tough. I thought I was finding a rhythm, settling into that long-run-type pace and learning the tows and the draft. I didn’t keep track of the adjustments in the car.”
Busch had just turned a lap of 223.433 mph. His fastest of the day was 225.623 mph. That’s currently good for 14th.
Carb Day, which includes a one-hour practice at 11 a.m., is Friday.
Josef Newgarden of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing had the fastest time as of the Busch crash. Newgarden turned a lap of 227.105 mph as the engine manufacturers have dialed back to boost levels to race conditions.
