Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Kyle Busch was grump after Sunday’s NASCAR race.
Yep, we’re doing this again.
Busch finished 19th in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — an underwhelming playoff opener for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Be it early damage, late contact or dealing with lap traffic, it clearly wasn’t Busch’s night.
After the race, Busch directed his frustrations toward media, other drivers and even an entire race track. And he did so in very Marshawn Lynch-esque fashion.
Check out Jeff Gluck’s (slightly NSFW) transcript, which Kyle Larson apparently loved:
😂
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) September 16, 2019
Busch’s anger largely stemmed from late-race run-ins with lapped drivers Joey Gase and Garrett Smithley that prevented him from finishing in the top 10. Essentially, Busch didn’t feel that Gase nor Smithley belonged on the same track as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ more accomplished drivers.
“We’re at the top echelon of motorsports, and we’ve got guys who have never won Late Model races running on the racetrack,” Busch said. “It’s pathetic. They don’t know where to go. What else do you do?”
Here’s Busch making contact with Smithley:
Here's what ticked off @KyleBusch at the end of the race at @LVMotorSpeedway.
Contact with the No. 52 of Garrett Smithley. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/rDilsgePLV
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 16, 2019
And here’s his testy post-race interview:
"We've got guys that have never won late model races running out here. It's pathetic."@KyleBusch was not happy after a run-in with lapped traffic late at @LVMotorSpeedway. pic.twitter.com/zo3V553bp3
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 16, 2019
NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert relayed Busch’s comments to Gase and Smithley. Neither driver agreed with “Rowdy’s” assessment.
Check out these comments:
Caught up with Gase and Smithley in the garage after their late-race run-ins with Kyle Busch. Their response to hearing that Busch was critical of them:
Full story/comments to come. #NASCAR | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Ol51ODSOtb
— Zack Albert (@zack_albert) September 16, 2019
Busch fired back with a tweet of his own, prompting a response from Smithley.
Top tier drivers get hired by top tier teams. Try winning… a lot… and u have a better shot of getting hired. https://t.co/Vi9iPuckA9
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) September 16, 2019
Held my line…2 cars got around 🤷🏼♂️ https://t.co/pZCRb4uFay
— Garrett Smithley (@GarrettSmithley) September 16, 2019
Got all that?
Honestly, Busch might have a point on this one. It’s fair for playoff drivers to be miffed over arguably unqualified drivers clogging up the track and bogging down the pace in such important races. Still, as is often the case with Busch, it’s his tone and overall dismissal of his peers that rubs people the wrong way.
Busch currently sits fourth in the playoff standings with two races remaining in the Round of 16. He’s in no real danger of missing the cut for the Round of 12.
Next up is the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, where Busch has six wins a sterling 7.0 average finish.
