Five wide gone wrong at Pocono Raceway
A restart in stage three brought chaos in the middle of the pack. Corey LaJoie pulled out of line in an attempt to make it five wide into turn one.
Watch the Kyle Busch crash video below.
Kyle Busch pulled left, throwing a block on LaJoie. As they got closer to turn one, LaJoie turned right, hooking Busch in the left rear.
Busch was sent into the turn one grass. He rolled backwards into turn one.
Ryan Preece, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Harrison Burton and others were collected in the crash. Many drivers made a significant impact with the outside wall.
LaJoie might not have hooked Busch on purpose. He may have just been trying to tuck in behind him. However, there is team radio…
Team Radio
No. 7 Team: “You all good there.”
LaJoie: “I think so. He hooked himself.”
No. 7 Team: “Yeah, I ain’t worried about him. It’s all about us. Yeah, you let him have it the first time. The second time, he got what he deserved. All good.”
Pocono Results: July 14, 2024 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Jeff Burton comments
Jeff Burton heard that adding, “That right there, not only if I’m Kyle Busch but all the other guys that got in the wreck, I’m really unhappy with that. Kyle Busch didn’t hook himself, he got hooked.”
“It’s not the racetrack you want to hook someone. You are flying down into turn one.”
Burton added, “Yes, you have to stand your ground. You can’t let people push you around because if you let them push you around, they’ll always push you around.”
Kyle Busch comments
After the crash, Busch had only a few words. Noticeably frustrated, he said only a few words on the incident.
After exiting the care center, Kyle Busch was asked if he needed to have a talk with LaJoie, he stated, “Nah.”
“I was trying to get in front of that run. Sometimes, some don’t lift, kamikaze,” Busch added to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass.
Kyle Busch punched by Ricky Stenhouse Jr at North Wilkesboro (Video)
Corey LaJoie comments
“Restarts were crazy there, if you have any sort of momentum, you gotta take it,” LaJoie told NASCAR.com.
“You gotta go to the bottom to kinda stake your ground. It was like four wide, I went to the left rear of the No. 8. He blocked it once and I kinda stayed straight.”
“I was anticipating our bumpers lining up and pushing him forward. But, he blocked again, when I had more position on him and spun him out.”
“I hate it. But, that’s just what you have to do. That’s just how the racing is, you have to be super aggressive on restarts.”
“Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug. I’m not the guy that wants to wreck anybody. But, I think if Kyle blocks only once, then we both go around the corner.”
“But, in that second block, he thought he had it covered and he didn’t, is what did him in.”
“Kyle and I have been racing around each other long enough that we’re not going to smash into each other on purpose. I’m not going to say sorry. I’m not sorry about it. And if the shoe was not he other foot, the exact same thing would’ve happened.”
