Saturday night's Richmond race was billed as one of the few times drivers would be willing to go all-out with a chance to earn a valuable 10 bonus points for the Chase.
After all, only one driver had to worry about falling out of the Chase. The rest could theoretically drive as hard as possible and do whatever it took to win with no fear of losing points.
But when Kyle Busch had a chance to put a bumper to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin late in the race, he didn't.
Why not?
Because as Busch basically said, team unity was more valuable than those 10 points.
"We caught up to him and I thought we had something for him," Busch said. "In traffic, I could have made a ballsy move and gotten through him, but it would have made contact. I would rather have seen the Joe Gibbs cars finish 1-2."
Busch said he wanted to win (of course), but "racing teammates clean like that and not laying a bumper" to Hamlin was important in making sure everything was smooth with the JGR cars entering the Chase.
So the drama wasn't meant to be at Richmond. At Homestead, though, things might be different.
"If it does, it's going to be no holds barred," Busch said. "...If it comes down to me having to win the race in order to win the championship or if he wins the race he wins the championship, it's going to be whatever happens."
Maybe that'll make up for a disappointing night at Richmond.
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Why Didn't Kyle Busch Bump Denny Hamlin For The Lead? Rowdy Explains
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Comments
The way I read this is...
….If anyone by Denny had been in front of Vile Kyle, he would have layed a bumper to him and taken him out. I guess Kyle used his prodigious driving talents to finally AVOID taking someone out.
Obviously, he only races teammates clean.
Carol Dahlberg
by RVnGrammy on Sep 12, 2010 12:56 AM EDT reply actions
Obviously you didn't really understand what he said
No Kyle sees the big picture, and oh by the way he races people hard not dirty. Its not his fault it causes the other drivers to make mistakes. The track record for all JGR cars lately in the last several chases has been poor due to reliability problems and driver errors so to have two cars in the top five in points going into the chase was smart. Also I hope they drive the fenders off their cars at homestead and even wreck the other to win the title. Its what Nascar needs!!! Not another meaningless Chase that will only be changed for the worse due to the title being tied up early. I see you angle, I guess if anyone takes Kyle out its okay and only Kyle is dirty.
by Len_DiJoseph on Sep 12, 2010 2:10 AM EDT up reply actions
oh come on..
This is so typical of a Kyle hater. He didn’t say he would’ve wrecked denny, he said he would have tried to get underneath him, you know, to RACE him for the win (isn’t that the whole point of this sport?). Instead, he thought better of it to protect a great finish for the JGR team.
According to Kyle, he thinks there would have been contact if he tried it, that doesn’t mean there would have been a wreck. you show me any other guy on the track tonight who wouldn’t have raced hard for the win, contact or not, and ill show you a guy who doesn’t want it bad enough.
You people make him out to be the dirtiest driver in NASCAR since Bristol. if you look at his career track record, he’s actually a very clean and smart racer.
by Eric Mitz on Sep 12, 2010 2:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, then I hope Denny wrecks Kyle at Homestead before Kyle gets a chance to wreck him…if it comes down to that.
by Corrine on Sep 12, 2010 1:01 AM EDT reply actions
Kyle's new Outlook?
Seems maturity is come in to Kyle’s thought process. Good for him!
by Anna Rhyder Baughn on Sep 12, 2010 9:13 AM EDT reply actions
If you noticed every week...
This is usually the way Kyle drives races, passing clean when his car is able & beating clean on restarts. People keep tagging him as a dirty driver when its not true. Hard & aggressive, yes. Things like bumping, nudging & sliding are NOT dirty driving.
by DRLDeBoer on Sep 12, 2010 11:44 AM EDT reply actions
i agree drldebeor,and im a JR. fan!!!
by sunvgg on Sep 14, 2010 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
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