Kyle Busch qualifies repaired car No. 1 for Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Charlotte - MotorSportsTalk

Kyle Busch took his car from the body shop to the top of the speed charts, qualifying No. 1 for Saturday afternoon’s History 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch wrecked the car during practice Thursday. According to a report on ESPN, per NASCAR rules, a team is allowed to take a damaged car off-site to repair it, and that’s what Busch’s team apparently did, taking it back to Joe Gibbs Racing’s headquarters in suburban Huntersville, N.C.

The car came back seemingly better than the original, as Busch made it look easy with a best lap of 183.094 mph.

Just like he’ll start in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 Sprint Cup race, Brad Keselowski earned the outside pole in NNS qualifying with a speed of 182.655 mph.

Kyle Larson (182.199), Dylan Kwasniewski (181.788) and Kevin Harvick (181.543) rounded out the top-five.

Sixth through 10th were Brian Scott (180.898), Matt Kenseth (180.349), Regan Smith (179.910), NNS points leader Chase Elliott (179.892) and Elliott Sadler (179.700).

Here’s the starting grid for Saturday afternoon’s History 300, with the green flag set to fall at 2:45 pm ET:

Row 1 Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski

Row 2 Kyle Larson, Dylan Kwasniewski

Row 3 Kevin Harvick, Brian Scott

Row 4 Matt Kenseth, Regan Smith

Row 5 Chase Elliott, Elliott Sadler

Row 6 Ty Dillon, Jeb Burton (making his NNS debut)

Row 7 Chris Buescher, Landon Cassill

Row 8 James Bueschder, Trevor Bayne

Row 9 Chad Boat, Mike Bliss

Row 10 Ross Chastain, Brendan Gaughan

Row 11 JJ Yeley, David Starr

Row 12 Ryan Reed, Johnny Sauter

Row 13 Josh Wise, John Wes Townley

Row 14 Dakoda Armstrong, Ryan Sieg

Row 15 Jeffrey Earnhardt, Kyle Fowler

Row 16 Jeremy Clements, Tommy Joe Martins

Row 17 Carlos Contreras, Eric McClure

Row 18 Kevin Lepage, Derrike Cope

Row 19 Harrison Rhodes, Joey Gase

Row 20 Chris Cockrum, Tanner Berryhill

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Zach Veach will be leaving his Andretti Autosport ride with three races remaining in the season, choosing to explore options after the decision was made he wouldn’t return for 2021.

In a Wednesday release, Andretti Autosport said a replacement driver for the No. 26 Dallara-Honda would be named in the coming days. The NTT IndyCar Series will race Oct. 2-3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and then conclude the season Oct. 25 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Veach was ranked 11th in the points standings through 11 races of his third season with Andretti. Since a fourth in the June 6 season opener at Texas Motor Speedway, he hadn’t finished higher than 14th.

Stepping out of the car is the hardest decision I have ever made, but to me, racing is about family, @FollowAndretti is my family and I am doing this to allow the team to have time with other drivers as they prepare for 2021, and so that I can also explore my own 2021 options. pic.twitter.com/KXNjitpLSF

— Zach Veach (@ZachVeach) September 23, 2020

“The decision was made that I will not be returning in 2021 with Andretti Autosport in the No. 26 Gainbridge car,” Veach said in the Andretti release. “This, along with knowing that limited testing exists for teams due to COVID, have led me to the decision to step out of the car for the remainder of the 2020 IndyCar season. I am doing this to allow the team to have time with other drivers as they prepare for 2021, and so that I can also explore my own 2021 options.

“This is the hardest decision I have ever made, but to me, racing is about family, and it is my belief that you take care of your family. Andretti Autosport is my family and I feel this is what is best to help us all reach the next step. I will forever be grateful to Michael and the team for all of their support over the years. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for a relationship that started many years ago with Road to Indy. I will also be forever grateful to Dan Towriss for his friendship and for the opportunity he and Gainbridge have given me.

“My love for this sport and the people involved is unmeasurable, and I look forward to continuing to be amongst the racing world and fans in 2021.”

Said team owner Michael Andretti: “We first welcomed Zach to the Andretti team back in his USF2000 days and have enjoyed watching him grow and evolve as a racer, and a person. His decision to allow us to use the last few races to explore our 2021 options shows the measure of his character.

“Zach has always placed team and family first, and we’re very happy to have had him as part of ours for so many years. We wish him the best in whatever 2021 may bring and will always consider him a friend.”

Andretti fields five full-time cars for Veach, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Colton Herta.

It also has fielded James Hinchcliffe in three races this season.

Kyle Busch qualifies repaired car No. 1 for Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Charlotte

Zach Veach splits with Andretti Autosport for rest of IndyCar season