BRISTOL, Tenn. — (AP) — Kurt Busch says he declined an offer from Penske Racing to replace teammate Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch says he preferred to focus on preparing for the Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday night. Running in Friday’s event could have detracted from preparing his No. 2 team for the upcoming Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Busch has failed to finish the last two Cup races and has dropped from fourth to eighth in the standings.
He replaced Keselowski in the Nationwide race at Watkins Glen two weeks ago and earned his first series victory since 2006. Keselowski has skipped the last four Nationwide races as he recovers from a broken ankle. Parker Kligerman is driving for him at Bristol.
