Feud festers: Days later, Hamlin takes shots at Kyle Busch
CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch says he and Denny Hamlin can sort out the feud that erupted in last Saturday's Sprint All-Star Race.
Hamlin, though, seems to be done trying. Or caring.
"I'm not going to put too much effort in it," Hamlin said. "Kyle gets mad at the media for asking about his blowups, but he does it to himself. I don't want to be part of any drama he wants to create.
"Each year I think Kyle's going to grow out of it, and he just doesn't. Until he puts it all together, that's when he'll become a champion. Right now he just doesn't have himself all together."
The fallout from their latest flashpoint lingered Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Sprint Cup teams practiced and qualified for the longest race of the NASCAR season.
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Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 could be another long night for team owner Joe Gibbs if his drivers aren't on the same page about racing etiquette. Hamlin was leading the All-Star Race with eight laps remaining when Busch tried to squeeze by on the high side and slapped the wall in his No. 18 Toyota.
Busch was furious and accused his teammate of cutting him off. Hamlin remained unrepentant Thursday.
"There was never a hole for his car to fit," he said. "He could choose to (brake) and pass me in the next corner. He expected me to (brake), and I just wasn't willing to do it at that point."
Hamlin said the stakes (an exhibition race with a $1 million prize and no bearing on the championship) changed the dynamic. "I couldn't look myself in the mirror or any team guys in the face if I pulled over," he said. "It (stinks) because it's a teammate, but we're always competitors."
Busch was miffed by Hamlin's assertion that he would have made the same move ("you can't put words in a person's mouth") but said the incident was done.
Their NASCAR peers were hoping the bitterness might cause dissension. Jimmie Johnson, who got into a high-profile tiff with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon last month, said feuding with a teammate was fun to watch — "But living it (stinks)."
Said Penske Racing's Kurt Busch, Kyle's brother: "It doesn't do anything good for the team internally. We always hope it might soften them to where they don't run as competitively. In the long run, you know they'll work it out. It might even make the team stronger."
It didn't seem that way Thursday as Hamlin took several unprovoked digs at his teammate. Asked if he had stepped up as the leader at JGR, he said, "Someone's got to be the leader. It ain't going to be Kyle."
But he and Busch said they'd be able to maintain a professional relationship.
"I'm not going to change that at all," Hamlin said. " I'm much better on mile-and-a-half racetracks because of Kyle Busch, and I guarantee he's a much better short-track racer because I'm part of his team. I'm still going to need him."
