Indianapolis Notebook
Notebook Items:
- Kyle Busch spins in practice accident but avoids major damage
- Tony Stewart: Don't expect me to cry
- Short Strokes
July 22, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
KYLE BUSCH SPINS IN PRACTICE ACCIDENT
SPEEDWAY,
Ind. – Defending Crown Royal 400 race winner Kyle Busch narrowly
avoided a major catastrophe during opening practice on Friday at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation
for Sunday's race (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
Closing
fast on the No. 32 GoFas Racing Ford driven by Patrick Carpentier,
Busch caught the car at the end of the short chute between Turns 1 and
2. Carpentier steered down the
track, pinching Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the apron.
Busch
spun, as the right side of his Camry collided with Carpentier’s Ford,
but Busch was able to steer his car away from the inside wall and
avoided further damage.
Carpentier acknowledged he had failed to yield the racing line to a faster car.
“Kyle
was a little bit further back down the (front) straightaway and I was
like, ‘Do I lift to let him by?’” said Carpentier, whose car escaped
unscathed. “He was still quite
far away, but he closed in pretty quickly.
“I
didn’t think he was going to go in there, but it was my bad. I should
have let him go in between both corners, but that’s why I went and
apologized to him.”
Carpentier
hasn’t competed in a NASCAR race on an oval track since 2011, and Busch
didn’t appear particularly receptive when the Canadian driver paid a
visit to the No. 18 garage
stall to offer his mea culpa.
“He
was not very talkative, but that’s to be expected,” Carpentier said. “I
guess that’s racing, but it’s just sad that it happened in practice. I
wish I would have let him by,
but I just wanted to get some laps and some runs.
“A
couple of laps before I let Ryan Newman by in between (Turns) 1 and 2,
and that went pretty well, and I should have done that with Kyle. Like I
told him, ‘The next time, I’ll
do it.’”
TONY STEWART: DON’T EXPECT ME TO CRY
Three-time
champion Tony Stewart is doing everything he can to keep his last
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from
becoming a sentimental journey.
Despite
missing the first eight races of the season because of a back injury
suffered during the offseason, Stewart now is comfortably in the top 30
in the series standings,
and his unexpected victory at Sonoma in June almost certainly will earn
him a berth in the Chase.
So
forgive Stewart if he doesn’t get teary-eyed about his final run at the
Brickyard. Smoke has more pressing issues on his mind. Stewart is going
for his second victory of the
season, his third at Indy and the 50th of his career.
“You
guys are going to make a lot more out of this than what I’m going to
make out of it this weekend,” Stewart told reporters on Friday. “I am
literally just coming here in
my mind like it’s just another race, and it’s another weekend here at
Indy. I’m not doing all the sentimental crying stuff that you guys think
I’m going to be doing.
“I’m
going to race this weekend. I’m more focused. ... I’m probably more
prepared for a Brickyard than I have been any other year. I feel like we
had a really good tire test
here. Felt like our car drove really well. I think they brought the
same car back. If not, it’s another one that’s the same generation-type
car.”
So
don’t dwell on the retirement-tour angle this weekend. Stewart, who
will leave the seat of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet at
year’s end, isn’t buying it.
“You
guys can ask me all about how I’m feeling, thinking, whatever, but
you’re wasting my time and your time, because all I care about is
driving that race car right now,” he
said.
“It’s
probably the most focused I’ve been getting ready for a race. It’s not
amped up, or anything like that. I’m just really relaxed and focused and
feel good going into it.
That’s the way I need to do it.”
SHORT STROKES
Jimmie
Johnson led opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice with a lap at
184.185 mph. None the worse for wear after his spin in the first
session, defending race winner Kyle
Busch paced Happy Hour with a lap at 184.619 mph ... Jeff Gordon,
subbing for ailing Dale Earnhardt Jr., was ninth quickest in opening
practice at 179.376 mph. But with most drivers converting to qualifying
trim in final practice, Gordon was 25th on the speed
chart at 180.375 mph ... Danica Patrick, the only female driver to post
a top-five finish in the Indianapolis 500, cracked the top 10 in Happy
Hour. She was ninth fastest at 182.912 mph.
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