Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.
This week’s feud is a little bit of a throwback — not to the most recent NASCAR race, Sunday’s Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, but to Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 2017 spring race.
And diehard NASCAR fans surely remember how that particular race ended.
On the last lap of the race, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano were battling for third place behind eventual winner Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson. But Busch and Logano made contact that sent Busch’s No. 18 Toyota sliding off the track and down pit road.
“I got dumped,” Busch said at the time to FOX Sports. “[Logano] flat-out just drove straight into the corner and wrecked me.”
That contact led to Busch angrily marching down pit road and throwing a punch at Logano, which ignited a brawl between the two drivers and the No. 22 Ford’s pit crew before NASCAR officials broke it up.
See the post-race fight between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. https://t.co/xmpZTRKpZ0 pic.twitter.com/xpc8J0HiUT
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 13, 2017
Recently while on I AM NASCAR — a limited series and collaboration with the I Am Athlete podcast — Busch discussed other feuds he’s had with drivers, including a very old one with Dale Earnhardt Jr., and being labeled the sport’s villain.
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But Busch also opened up about his mindset in that moment. Via NASCAR.com:
“I didn’t tell anyone what I was going to do,” said Busch. “Never said anything on the radio. Kept it all to myself. I marched my happy ass down to pit road. Turned right into where he was, pulled it back and let it rip. I got the one hit in, because of course the rest of the fight was just all these dudes coming in and separating everyone.”
Busch continued throwing jabs at Logano, saying:
“The problem with Joey, is that he’s two-faced. People know I’m an [expletive] on the race track. Logano will come in here and he’s laughing and happy-go-lucky. But you put him on the race track, then he flips the [expletive] switch on. If you’re going to be a nice guy, be a nice guy on the track as well.”
Logano fans probably don’t love what Busch has to say about their favorite driver, but others have said similar things about the 2018 Cup Series champ.
In For The Win’s annual NASCAR Superlatives in 2019, drivers were polled about a variety of topics, including which driver has the biggest personality difference on the track versus off it. And while Busch was mentioned in this category, multiple drivers pointed to Logano too.
When asked that question, Logano said: “Frickin’ me, that’s for sure. I am definitely that guy.”
Watch Busch’s full I AM NASCAR interview with the I Am Athlete podcast here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmVUMcwDh6A
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