Kyle Busch knows how to back it up.
The Richard Childress Racing driver had a tire go flat with two laps to go in the first stage of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, causing his car to spin in Turn 2.
Instead of turning it around on the narrow track, he continued in reverse toward pit entrance, then righted things as he pulled onto the apron.
Tire wear has been an issue in the early stages of the race, with several top drivers including William Byron and Denny Hamlin suffering flats in the first stage, which was won by Hamlin’s teammate Ty Gibbs.
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The Cup Series is using a new short track package that debuted at Phoenix, which includes a new aerodynamics set up and tire compound designed to provide tons of grip when they’re fresh and drop off quickly on long runs. It’s intended to improve passing, and led to the most overtakes at Phoenix for the Next Gen car.
The Bristol race is on pace to break the all-time record for lead changes, which was set at 40 in 1991. There were 28 lead changes through 172 of the 500 scheduled laps.
Teams have been allotted nine sets of fresh tires for the race, plus the set they used in qualifying, but NASCAR can add a set if it deems it necessary.