Busch: 'I'd like to listen' to what Earnhardt Jr. has to say
By SceneDaily Staff
Monday, May 05, 2008
Doug Benc / Getty Images
CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Busch said Monday he hasn’t seen the replay of his incident with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway but joked that there are plenty of things he could have done differently.
“Yeah, there’s plenty of things you could probably do differently,” Busch said during a break in Sprint Cup Series test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I could’ve been on a beach in South Carolina or on the lake in North Carolina, I could’ve been at home in Las Vegas.”
Of course, Busch was racing for the win when he dove inside Earnhardt Jr. in Turn 3 during the closing laps of the race. Only Busch came out of the turn, as Earnhardt Jr. ended up backing into the outside wall.
“In that particular instance, we probably could’ve gave each other a little bit more room,” Busch said. “I probably could’ve dove a little earlier for the bottom. Junior probably could’ve run somewhat similar to the line he had been running the previous run and the first couple laps of that restart.
“But he was trying to find something that would work better for his car so he could get away from me. We just made contact, and unfortunately, he got the worst brunt of it.”
The two have yet to talk about the crash, though Busch said he called Earnhardt Jr. on Monday morning, only to get voice mail. Busch, though, is ready to move on from the incident.
“I hope we can talk about it and put it behind us,” Busch said. “I’ve reached out to Junior. … Hopefully, we’ll either see each other in the garage or we’ll see each other later.”
Busch said he wanted to “talk it over and see what his feelings are,” hoping the two drivers have similar thoughts about the wreck.
“He’s grown up knowing one of the best in the sport, so I’m sure he’s got a lot of knowledge that he could still relay to me,” Busch said, referring to Earnhardt Jr.’s father, seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt. “I’d like to listen.”
One thing Busch has had to listen to is the negative reaction from Junior Nation. It began Saturday night after the race and hasn’t slowed much. Busch said he hasn’t heard of any death threats, but other reaction doesn’t seem to bother him.
“It wasn’t too bad [in Richmond after the race],” Busch said. “We were going back from the infield to the motorhome, and there wasn’t anything. And then going from the motorhome to the helicopter, there were a couple fans yelling derogatory comments. It’s nothing new to me anyway, so I’m used to it.
“I pretty much told them, ‘Grow up.’ That’s racing. We’re racing hard. I feel like there’s a lot more worse cases in this world than somebody getting spun out in a race.”
Besides, Busch said, plenty of NASCAR champions have been vociferously jeered in the past – including Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“Earnhardt Sr. was one of those guys, Rusty Wallace was one of those guys, [Darrell] Waltrip was one of those guys,” Busch said. “To me, it’s nothing new to this sport. Jeff Gordon was one of those guys. He gets booed an awful lot, and Jimmie Johnson does, too. It’s been here, it’s been around.
“Driver intros, you don’t pay attention to. You go out there, you get introduced. You put your sponsor’s nameplate out there on your chest, and you stick it out there and keep your head up high and stay proud. You jump in your race car and let your racing do your talking.”
That’s what he did Saturday, and what he said Joe Gibbs Racing pays him to do: race hard and win races.
“We know that it was a racing incident and racing hard by both of us and not really giving each other a lot of room,” Busch said. “That’s a product of Richmond, a product of the [car of tomorrow] and the hard racing that it provides for us."
Recent Comments: