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Do you think the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Kyle Busch rivalry will happen again this weekend at Richmond? Seems like these two can't get away from each other at this track.
Round Three!
Written by Jay W Pennell
HardcoreRaceFans.com
Thursday, 30 April 2009 13:23
When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolled into the Richmond International Raceway last May, it appeared Dale Earnhardt Jr. might break his two-year winless streak and celebrate in front of an eager crowd. The only problem? Kyle Busch had something to say about it.
After the most dominant car of the evening, Denny Hamlin, was out of contention, Earnhardt Jr. and Busch were left to decide it amongst themselves. Racing hard in the closing laps of the race, the two drivers – one a fan favorite, the other a driver fan’s love to hate – battled side-by-side for the top-spot. Lap after lap the two fought tooth and nail as the fans in the stands stood and their feet and cheered them both on. Then it happened.
As they drove into the third turn, Busch – who was on the bottom – drove too hard into the corner, bobbled and made contact with Earnhardt Jr. The No. 88 Chevrolet spun into the outside wall as a cloud of white smoke rose into the night sky – possibly the steam from under Junior’s helmet.
“I wouldn’t say that was intentional going into (Turn 3), because if he wanted to, he could have just thrown me into the fence off of (Turn 2),” Earnhardt explained following the event. “We had been racing each other earlier and had no problems. I have done that before. That is what happens if he got loose underneath me.”
“To say that I took a win away from him, you know, it’s hard to say,” Busch added. “If I wanted to do it deliberately, I would have waited for the last lap where I probably could have still won the race. We just didn’t give each other enough room getting into Turn 3 and, you know, I didn’t feel like I slipped, but I mean, we just kind of banged simultaneously, and then that’s when I got loose and got corrected and he was gone.”
With Junior now out of contention thanks to the contact made by Busch, Junior Nation let the driver of the No. 18 Toyota Camry know their displeasure by giving him the one-finger salute and, unfortunately, throwing beer cans onto the track. (Please fans, never throw anything onto the racing surface.)
“Well, for some reason, [the fans] are awfully confused,” Busch went on to say with a smile, “because they were giving me the number one sign the last 10 laps of the race, and I was in second place still. So I don’t know whether that’s too many Dale Junior Budweisers or they are Amped up or what. It’s just unfortunate circumstances for him because he didn’t get a win, and for me because now I’ve got to put up with it.”
When the series returned for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in September, much of the talk in the garage and in the grandstands focused on the incident that took place earlier that year. With weather pushing back the last race of the regular season to Sunday, the track was hot and slick and the competition was fierce.
With Busch in the lead, Earnhardt Jr.’s car came on strong and he began to make a charge to the front. By Lap 211 the No. 88 was filling up Busch’s rear view mirror. As the pair drove into the first corner, Busch threw a block and Junior locked up the right front. Again the two made contact and this time it was Busch whose No. 18 was sent spinning into the outside wall – much to the delight of the fans.
Was it payback or just racing? There is only one person that truly knows the answer to that, and judging by his careful answer following the race we’ll never truly know.
"It certainly is ironic," Earnhardt admitted. "He's racing hard. He was up front leading and I felt like I was a little quicker and was gaining on him a little bit on each corner and I was on the bottom real tight and that I wasn't going to get by him. So I moved up to get next to him and race him hard and got into the quarter panel and spun him out. It was an accident - that's it.
"Well, I think if I wreck somebody, I ain't going to leave him in good enough shape to come back and get me in the same race,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “So that wasn't really my intentions. If I wanted to, I really ain't never wrecked anybody on purpose, I can go back and remember a couple of times but if I wanted to do it, I would do it really, really good.”
"I knew he was on my quarter panel,” Busch admitted, “but you know, I tried to make sure that I was leaving enough room down there. So, if there was a chance for a mistake, that he had enough room to gather it back up, but unfortunately there wasn't enough room there and we got together.
"Was that revenge? Who knows."
Now as the series is set to return to the Richmond International Raceway it will be interesting to watch how these two drivers race against one another. Earnhardt Jr. has struggled for much of the season and has caught a bit of flack and criticism from the fans, NASCAR and the media for one of the first times in his career, but is carrying the momentum of a second-place finish with him.
“I learned to get around short tracks racing at Myrtle Beach (S.C.),” said Earnhardt JR. “I look forward to going back to Richmond and Saturday night racing. The National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet was running good at Talladega. It ran up front. We’ll continue that momentum this weekend.”
For Busch, the season got off to a bang, but has fizzled over the last few weeks. Carrying the Combos colors this weekend, Busch is looking to change his luck for the better.
“I’m just hoping we can find some good luck. It seems like we’ve had a lot of bad luck the last several weeks,” Busch explained. “At Richmond, you try to be easy on the brakes getting in, so you don’t lock up getting into the corner or get too loose getting into the corner. It’s really particular there. The center (of the corner) always seems to be a little tight with these cars. And the exit, today, has been so loose. Nobody has any forward bite coming up off the corner, so it’s pretty bad. That should make for a pretty interesting race. It’s a fun short track. It’s pretty fast and it usually spreads out, and you’ll get a lot of grooves to choose from. You can pretty much count on the usual exciting short track racing when you go there.”
Whether these two come together once again this weekend is yet to be seen. Two of the sport’s most talented and popular drivers, another incident between Earnhardt Jr. and Busch may lead to one of the greatest rivalries in recent memory. So, keep an eye out this weekend as the stars of NASCAR shine under the lights in Richmond.
Round Three!
Written by Jay W Pennell
HardcoreRaceFans.com
Thursday, 30 April 2009 13:23
When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolled into the Richmond International Raceway last May, it appeared Dale Earnhardt Jr. might break his two-year winless streak and celebrate in front of an eager crowd. The only problem? Kyle Busch had something to say about it.
After the most dominant car of the evening, Denny Hamlin, was out of contention, Earnhardt Jr. and Busch were left to decide it amongst themselves. Racing hard in the closing laps of the race, the two drivers – one a fan favorite, the other a driver fan’s love to hate – battled side-by-side for the top-spot. Lap after lap the two fought tooth and nail as the fans in the stands stood and their feet and cheered them both on. Then it happened.
As they drove into the third turn, Busch – who was on the bottom – drove too hard into the corner, bobbled and made contact with Earnhardt Jr. The No. 88 Chevrolet spun into the outside wall as a cloud of white smoke rose into the night sky – possibly the steam from under Junior’s helmet.
“I wouldn’t say that was intentional going into (Turn 3), because if he wanted to, he could have just thrown me into the fence off of (Turn 2),” Earnhardt explained following the event. “We had been racing each other earlier and had no problems. I have done that before. That is what happens if he got loose underneath me.”
“To say that I took a win away from him, you know, it’s hard to say,” Busch added. “If I wanted to do it deliberately, I would have waited for the last lap where I probably could have still won the race. We just didn’t give each other enough room getting into Turn 3 and, you know, I didn’t feel like I slipped, but I mean, we just kind of banged simultaneously, and then that’s when I got loose and got corrected and he was gone.”
With Junior now out of contention thanks to the contact made by Busch, Junior Nation let the driver of the No. 18 Toyota Camry know their displeasure by giving him the one-finger salute and, unfortunately, throwing beer cans onto the track. (Please fans, never throw anything onto the racing surface.)
“Well, for some reason, [the fans] are awfully confused,” Busch went on to say with a smile, “because they were giving me the number one sign the last 10 laps of the race, and I was in second place still. So I don’t know whether that’s too many Dale Junior Budweisers or they are Amped up or what. It’s just unfortunate circumstances for him because he didn’t get a win, and for me because now I’ve got to put up with it.”
When the series returned for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in September, much of the talk in the garage and in the grandstands focused on the incident that took place earlier that year. With weather pushing back the last race of the regular season to Sunday, the track was hot and slick and the competition was fierce.
With Busch in the lead, Earnhardt Jr.’s car came on strong and he began to make a charge to the front. By Lap 211 the No. 88 was filling up Busch’s rear view mirror. As the pair drove into the first corner, Busch threw a block and Junior locked up the right front. Again the two made contact and this time it was Busch whose No. 18 was sent spinning into the outside wall – much to the delight of the fans.
Was it payback or just racing? There is only one person that truly knows the answer to that, and judging by his careful answer following the race we’ll never truly know.
"It certainly is ironic," Earnhardt admitted. "He's racing hard. He was up front leading and I felt like I was a little quicker and was gaining on him a little bit on each corner and I was on the bottom real tight and that I wasn't going to get by him. So I moved up to get next to him and race him hard and got into the quarter panel and spun him out. It was an accident - that's it.
"Well, I think if I wreck somebody, I ain't going to leave him in good enough shape to come back and get me in the same race,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “So that wasn't really my intentions. If I wanted to, I really ain't never wrecked anybody on purpose, I can go back and remember a couple of times but if I wanted to do it, I would do it really, really good.”
"I knew he was on my quarter panel,” Busch admitted, “but you know, I tried to make sure that I was leaving enough room down there. So, if there was a chance for a mistake, that he had enough room to gather it back up, but unfortunately there wasn't enough room there and we got together.
"Was that revenge? Who knows."
Now as the series is set to return to the Richmond International Raceway it will be interesting to watch how these two drivers race against one another. Earnhardt Jr. has struggled for much of the season and has caught a bit of flack and criticism from the fans, NASCAR and the media for one of the first times in his career, but is carrying the momentum of a second-place finish with him.
“I learned to get around short tracks racing at Myrtle Beach (S.C.),” said Earnhardt JR. “I look forward to going back to Richmond and Saturday night racing. The National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet was running good at Talladega. It ran up front. We’ll continue that momentum this weekend.”
For Busch, the season got off to a bang, but has fizzled over the last few weeks. Carrying the Combos colors this weekend, Busch is looking to change his luck for the better.
“I’m just hoping we can find some good luck. It seems like we’ve had a lot of bad luck the last several weeks,” Busch explained. “At Richmond, you try to be easy on the brakes getting in, so you don’t lock up getting into the corner or get too loose getting into the corner. It’s really particular there. The center (of the corner) always seems to be a little tight with these cars. And the exit, today, has been so loose. Nobody has any forward bite coming up off the corner, so it’s pretty bad. That should make for a pretty interesting race. It’s a fun short track. It’s pretty fast and it usually spreads out, and you’ll get a lot of grooves to choose from. You can pretty much count on the usual exciting short track racing when you go there.”
Whether these two come together once again this weekend is yet to be seen. Two of the sport’s most talented and popular drivers, another incident between Earnhardt Jr. and Busch may lead to one of the greatest rivalries in recent memory. So, keep an eye out this weekend as the stars of NASCAR shine under the lights in Richmond.
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