Darlington: Busch crashes, Ryan Newman fastest

Kurt Busch cut and tire and crashed during the first Sprint Cup practice session Friday at Darlington Raceway.

Busch, who hit the Turn 1 wall, was third on the speed chart in his Penske Racing Dodge at the time of the crash. He will go to a backup car for Saturday night’s Showtime Southern 500.

“Bummer deal," Busch said. “I was just radioing to [the team] that we needed to free it up a little bit. I think we only had 12 or 15 laps on them. When bad karma hits you, it just hits you."

Ryan Newman (Stewart-Haas Racing) recorded the fastest lap at 176.816 mph. Points leader Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing) was second with a speed of 176.296 mph. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Kasey Kahne (Red Bull Racing) were fourth and fifth, respectively.