NASCAR: Winners And Losers From Michigan
By Cole Mentzel
Loser: Grilles
We see it every season with the 2.0-mile tracks (Auto Club and Michigan). Just about every piece of trash that makes it onto the track is going to get stuck in a grille.
That was the case early on in Sunday’s race as many of the cars running in the top-10 had to worry about trash impacting their day. For drivers like Tony Stewart and Ryan Blaney, it became a non-factor as soon as it shot off the car.
However, Kyle Busch wasn’t so lucky. At the drop of the green flag, Busch raced up near the top-5 before he attracted a piece of trash.
He was able to get the trash off, but went on to lose his engine and finish the race 40th. It marked the fourth-straight race where he’s finished 30th or below.
Per @AndyJGraves trash on the grille to blame for @KyleBusch engine failure
— Tom Jensen (@tomjensen100) June 12, 2016
After the fact, he said that he had a “30-lap warning,” pretty much expecting his engine to go at some point. It was later confirmed that the trash that had landed on his grille was the cause of his engine failure.
Busch still sits atop the Chase standings, since he has the most wins on the season, but he dropped from 5th to 9th in the overall driver standings.
Next: A Step In The Right Direction