Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott's on-track tussle at Darlington Raceway this week might be the start of a new rivalry NASCAR needs.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s reigning Cup champion and the resident villain of the series. Chase Elliott has been voted most popular driver the last two years and is quickly building a loyal and rabid fan base.
Among them was Elliott crew chief Alan Gustafson, who was Busch’s crew chief when Busch drove for Hendrick Motorsports early in his career. Busch was informed over his radio he had a welcoming committee waiting for him, and one of his own Joe Gibbs Racing crew members sat on the wall directly next to Gustafson as a de facto bodyguard.
“I just made a mistake, misjudged the gap, sent him into the wall. That was entirely unintentional. I’ll definitely reach out to him and tell him I’m sorry, tell him I hate it that it happened.” Hamlin also noted he’d been cut off twice by Elliott in the two Darlington races and chalked up the aggressiveness to drivers pushing hard after the long layoff.
Gustafson said he understood Busch’s explanation but the apology probably would not immediately calm emotions. The Hendrick team believes Elliott was racing for the victory when he was wrecked by Hamlin’s teammate. He celebrates his wins with a dramatic bow to the crowd, and no matter how successful — 209 national victories and a pair of Cup titles — Busch hasn’t found widespread popularity. He has his own rabid fan base called “Rowdy Nation” and stopped caring about the haters long ago.“I’ve never been a very good politician,” Busch said. “His fan base is going to have the hatred to me anyway. I just deal with what I got to deal with. Rowdy Nation will have my back and we’ll go after it after that.
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