Kyle Busch will go to a backup car for Sunday's Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway after a hard, fiery crash in practice.
The two-time Cup Series champion suddenly shot to the right as he completed laps around the partially repaved .875-mile track. The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet slammed nose first into the outside safer barrier before spinning backward with flames shooting from under the crumpled hood.
Busch climbed from his No. 8 under his own power after extinguishing the blaze, and he walked down toward the apron. He went to the infield care center, where he underwent evaluation before his release.
There's big trouble in practice for @KyleBusch.
Kyle climbed from the No. 8 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/VreIpf8qJe
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 2, 2025
"(I was) just trying to find the right rear limit, find the right rear grip that we needed," Busch said after exiting the infield care center. "Made some good changes to the car each time we came down.
"Felt really good there in (Turns) 3 and 4, I throttled up, the car stuck well, and I'm like, 'Ok, the right rear's good. Let's go.' And drove it off into (Turn) 1 with a little more trust factor in it, and obviously, it wasn't there. Got a little bit loose, just over-corrected, and smacked the fence."
As Richard Childress Racing showed, they did not have the option of repairing the primary car after the hard crash. They immediately pulled the backup from the hauler and began prepping it for Sunday's Cup Series race. They will have to put the car through inspection on Sunday morning as other teams prepare for a pivotal event.
Busch will now start the race from the rear of the field after going to the backup car. He will try to work his way through the field at the track where he finished 35th last season due to a mechanical issue after qualifying seventh.
The veteran driver enters the weekend sitting 15th in the Cup Series standings, but he is below the cutline. Three drivers behind Busch in points have already won their way into the playoffs. He is currently 81 points behind the cutline and Chris Buescher, the last driver in on points.