Kyle Busch needs medical attention after Charlotte NASCAR race

Kyle Busch was overheated and had increased carbon monoxide levels after driving a crash-damaged car during Sunday’s NASCAR race.

An overheated Kyle Busch required medical attention immediately following Sunday’s Monster Energy Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch had crashed earlier in the Bank of America 500 and that damage caused excessive heat inside his car and increased the carbon monoxide levels. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver repeatedly asked for ice bags during pit stops and when the race concluded he removed himself from the car and laid down on the infield turf.

Busch stayed on the ground for several minutes before standing up and walked to an awaiting ambulance where he was then transported to the onsite medical facility. He was eventually released from the care center after receiving fluids and oxygen.

“I’m alright,” Busch said. “I’m better now. I got heat soaked and felt like I had heat stroke just from being inside the race car for 200 laps with the crush panels knocked out of it.

“After I first tore (the car) up, it was just a handful from there. Literally, as soon as I did it, just coasting around under caution I could feel it being about 50 degrees hotter inside the car. It just got so hot that you felt like you were going to puke.”

Busch was not the only driver who received medical attention for dehydration post-race. Ty Dillon and Matt DiBenedetto were also treated and later released from the infield care center.

Busch was running second when he spun and hit the Turn 3 wall on Lap 136 of the 337-lap race, turning a promising outing into long and frustrating afternoon. He would then be involved in bringing out two more cautions, eventually finishing 29th and six laps behind race-winner Martin Truex Jr.

“Obviously, it was my bad,” Busch said. “Just trying to get a little too much too early in the race and got too high out of the groove and got myself into the fence and tore the right side off of it.

“They said my CO was in the double digits and I’m fighting some of that, too. That was just the hottest I’ve been in the car.”

Despite Sunday’s result, Busch remains 12 points above the provisional cut line to transfer into the semi-final round of the playoffs. The four lowest-ranked drivers in points without a round win out of 12 championship-eligible races will be eliminated after the completion of second-round races at Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 15) and Kansas Speedway (Oct. 22).

“It stinks to give up points,” Busch said. “We come in here and thought we had a good shot to run in the top 10, and we did and I threw it away. We’re still above the cut line, but we don’t have that cushion that we’d like to have going to Talladega.”