Sunday was one of those days when seemingly everyone in the NASCAR world hated Kyle Busch.
However, nobody was more upset with “Rowdy” than Darrell Wallace Jr.
It all started early in Stage 1 of the Go Bowling at The Glen. Busch, having battled back from a rough start, approached William Byron but made contact with the No. 24 near a chicane, sending it flying through the grass.
Take a look:
During the final laps of Stage 1, @WilliamByron mowed the lawn through the chicane!#GoBowlingAtTheGlen | @WGI pic.twitter.com/BzqqxNf3wW
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 4, 2019
That didn’t sit well with Byron’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, who essentially ordered his driver to deliver payback.
"If I see the 18 come back here without you knocking the f**k out of him, we're going to have a problem" – Chad Knaus#NASCAR #GoBowlingAtTheGlen @WGI @WilliamByron radio saying front nose damage
— Tom Bowles (@NASCARBowles) August 4, 2019
And Byron obliged.
Payback.@WilliamByron ➡️ @KyleBusch pic.twitter.com/GRgmVxRmbM
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 4, 2019
Now, let’s get to Wallace.
Busch made contact with the Richard Petty Motorsports driver on Lap 39, sending the No. 43 into the wall. Wallace exacted revenge on Lap 62, very clearly spinning out the No. 18 on the front stretch at Watkins Glen International.
Check this out:
Take another look at what happened between @BubbaWallace and @KyleBusch!
What was your reaction watching it unfold? 👀 pic.twitter.com/EsmSWeijhP
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 4, 2019
Wallace, who could be see seen sharing fist bumps with his crew after finishing 28th, didn’t mince words when talking to reporters.
“I’m going to get my respect on the track, and I don’t care who it is,” Wallace said via Sporting News. “That’s for when guys fail to think about the young guys, I guess, or with me. … I won’t put up with no s–t. So I flat-out wrecked his ass back.”
Added Wallace: “That’s what happens when you get run over. You just pay him back. So I won’t be like, ‘Oh, it’s Kyle Busch, he didn’t mean to.’ F–k him.”
Busch, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically short with his comments after the race.
“You saw what happened,” he said.
At the end of the day, “Rowdy” got the last laugh, as he often does. With his 11th-place finish, Busch now sits in first place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.
Chase Elliott took the checkered flag, marking his second straight victory at Watkins Glen.
