Kurt Busch, driver of the #51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, spins out after leading at Talladega Superspeedway. Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kurt Busch was leading the race at Talledga until lap 99, when apparently he had run out of gas. Going at those speeds, with the pack behind you, and you run out of gas could lead to terminal circumstances, as it did for Busch. Jamie McMurray hit the No. 51 Chevrolet from behind, sending him spinning and hitting the inside retaining wall.

Apparently, when the car came to a rest, Busch had taken off his helmet and climbed out to check the car and noticed he could continue to the garage for the team to repair it and get it back out.

However, in the meantime the safety crew had shown up, placed their gear on the back of the car and went to assist Busch for his mandatory ambulance ride to the infield care center. But Busch had something else on his mind… to get to the garage. So he took off. Apparently he wasn’t totally out of gas….

NASCAR and team GM Steve Barkdoll were yelling at him to stop – but without his helmet on – Busch didn’t hear the commands and was eventually black flagged by NASCAR for ignoring the request.

“I guess they were telling me to stop. That is the competitor, that is the desire I have to stay in the race and to keep going,” he said. “I got out of the car, I kept going and saw the car would roll and it didn’t have flat tires.

Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“I was hoping to get the car back to the garage to work on it and get back in this race. NASCAR was yelling at me to stop, I didn’t have my helmet on and I was in worse trouble. This is the story of my life. Kurt Busch. Leading the race, runs out of gas, tries to get back in the race with that competitive desire, gets yelled at by NASCAR and now I have a storm of media around me and I don’t know what to even say or what to do next.”

That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

This was the conclusion of the (team) relationship between Kurt Busch and Phoenix Racing with the results after 29 Cup races together only earning two top-10s and six DNFs. Busch will drive for Furniture Row Racing starting next weekend at Charlotte and for the 2013 season, while displaced Regan Smith will take over the No. 51 Chevrolet at Charlotte.

Good luck Furniture Row, you are going to need it!