Nearly a week later, everyone around NASCAR is still talking about last Sunday’s wild finish at Richmond in the Cook Out 400.
In case you missed it, Austin Dillon – desperate to win the race and grab a playoff spot – ran into the back of Joey Logano’s No. 22 car coming out of the final turns, spinning him into the wall. In the very next moment, Dillon then clipped the rear right panel of Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car, sending him to the wall too. Dillon went on to win the race, his first in nearly two years, behind some very aggressive driving that was polarizing among fans and drivers alike – celebrated by some and widely criticized by others.
Since then, NASCAR penalized Dillon by ruling that his win would not count towards playoff eligibility – which Dillon is appealing. It also fined Logano for his actions after the race, where he spun the tires of his car down pit road in front of Dillon’s No. 3 pit box.
On Saturday at qualifying for the FireKeepers Casino 400 in Michigan, reporters caught up with Kyle Busch who offered his thoughts on the whole scene. If there was one thing that came out crystal clear, it’s that Busch still has no love for Logano.
Kyle Busch on Joey Logano when talking about the Richmond finish: “The one that had it happen to him is probably the one that has done it the most. … I guess his comments, he could be calling himself that.” pic.twitter.com/g1OAcFSJcT
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 17, 2024
“There’s a lot of guys that have done some desperate things to get wins even when they’re not desperate. The one that had it happen to him is probably the one that’s done it the most that doesn’t need to do it. I guess his comments – he can be calling himself that… Be mindful of what you do, I guess. It’s always going to come back on you. YouTube is there for not all positives.”
Simply put, Busch could’ve just said: what goes around comes around.
Busch, of course, is no stranger to aggressive driving or controversy himself. After the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro this year he got into a fistfight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
It’s also worth noting two things: First, Busch is a teammate of Dillon’s at Richard Childress Racing. And second, he has a history with Logano, getting into a pit road kerfuffle with him in 2017 in Las Vegas after Logano wrecked him.
Earlier this week, Dillon told Dale Earnhardt Jr. that Busch congratulated him after the race in Richmond:
“He leaned down in the window and I said, ‘Man, that got wild.’ And he said, ‘It doesn’t matter, you won it either way. You were the best car, and you dominated,’ which means a lot to me.”
Engines fire up for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Hamlin is first in the starting grid after qualifying, Dillon is 10th, and Busch and Logano are nestled together at 13th and 14th. Stay tuned for any more potential fireworks between the drivers.
