Throughout the years, NASCAR has often witnessed its drivers get into serious fistfights and leave the track as battered MMA fighters walk out of the ring. However, now that the third race of the year at Las Vegas is right around the corner, perhaps what happened back in 2017 between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, is something we can surely revisit.
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It was also the third race of the season back then but it seemed like the tempers between these two veteran drivers were overflowing already. So what happened exactly?
It all started with just two laps to go. Busch wasn’t happy with the way Logano was racing him. However, when the latter spun him out and sent him veering down the pit road, he lost it completely. Indeed, that was the last nail in the coffin.
Needless to say, Rowdy was infuriated. Moments later, he paced towards Logano on the pit road and shot a punch at his face. What followed next was a series of exchanges from both drivers and it took their respective crew members to take them away from one another. Although Logano didn’t receive any physical injuries, the brawl left Busch with a bloodied forehead, which, however, was not Logano’s doing but rather, collateral damage if you will. The sole benefactor of the wreck was Martin Truex Jr., who passed Brad Keselowski and took home the trophy.
How have things been between the two recently?
To answer that question, let’s take a look at what happened last year at The Coliseum, shall we? No, there wasn’t any more blood but there was a heated exchange of words for sure. After all, there were 16 cautions in the race. Therefore, it would have been perhaps a little weird had there been no on-track skirmishes.
It had to go wrong between the multi-time Cup Series champions. On lap 86, Joey Logano turned Kyle Busch going into turn 4. One might wonder; NASCAR drivers nose each other all the time, so what’s the big deal about it? It doesn’t seem too egregious, does it? On the surface level, it didn’t seem like a lot but what Busch said during a post-race interview with SiriusXM NASCAR radio makes the entire episode spicy.
“It’s really unfortunate to be raced by guys that are so two-faced,” Busch revealed. “We were in the TV booth earlier in the night together, and when we were all done with that he was like ‘Hey man, good luck tonight.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, great, thanks, yeah, whatever,’ and then lo and behold, there you go, he wrecks me. It’s just, don’t even talk to me if you’re gonna be that kind of a**hole on the racetrack.”
💭 "Don't even talk to me if you're going to be that kind of a**hole on the racetrack." 😳 #NASCAR
🔥 After working in the booth for @NASCARONFOX together hours before, @KyleBusch was surprised how @joeylogano raced him in the @nascarclash last night. pic.twitter.com/34fHcZdIzR
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 6, 2023
Was Logano sorry for what he did? Yes, he was. Did Logano agree with what Rowdy said about him being two-faced? Yes, he did. However, is there anything wrong with being two-faced? Logano said, “No, I don’t.”
“In Kyle’s words, I’m not a complete a**hole all the time. That’s better than being an a-hole 100% of the time,” he added. Well, it can be assumed that SiriusXM NASCAR radio had to bleep out too many words that day from both of their interviews.
