Notebook: Kyle Busch: ‘I don’t feel like I’m a dirty racer’

Notebook: Kyle Busch: ‘I don’t feel like I’m a dirty racer’


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga.—Kyle Busch is a lightning rod, sometimes through no fault of his own.
The lightning struck Friday night at Kentucky Speedway, where race winner Todd Bodine spun under hard racing with Busch just past the halfway point in the Built Ford Tough 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
Bodine took advantage of fuel-mileage strategy to win the race, but afterward, in a televised interview in victory lane, he accused Busch of “dirty driving.”
“The first person I have to thank is Kyle Busch for driving dirty, sucking me down and getting me spun out to give us the gas (during the pit stop that followed),” Bodine said. “That’s why we won the race.
“When I got up behind Kyle, we got aero-tight, which is what happens. I backed off, kind of riding there trying to keep the right front out and wait for later. Lo and behold, we got sucked around, got some fuel and here we are in victory lane.”
Busch was changing out of his fire suit when he heard Bodine’s comments on TV. He walked to victory lane, interrupted Bodine’s celebration and took issue with the winner’s comments. After a brief exchange, Busch walked away.
“I don’t feel like I’m a dirty racer,” Busch said Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I feel like I’m a hard racer and an aggressive one. I wouldn’t call it dirty. Dirty is when you run into the back of somebody down the back straightaway and put them in the fence.
“You can spin a guy out by not touching him. That’s what happened to Bodine. I was three lanes up the racetrack. He chased it all the way up to me, I felt like. You watch the replay—I’m in the third lane.”
The hard feelings between Busch and Bodine didn’t extend to Bodine’s team owner, Bob Germain, who gave Busch a ride to Atlanta on his plane after the race.

Edwards rues loss of Atlanta race
Still seeking his first victory of 2010, Carl Edwards said he’ll miss having two chances at Atlanta—one of his favorites tracks—with the realignment of the Sprint Cup schedule next year.
After a 51-year run of at least two races per season at the 1.54-mile track, Atlanta will host one Cup event next year, as its traditional spring date becomes the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in July.
“I wished we raced at Atlanta every other week, maybe three times a month,” said Edwards, a three-time winner at AMS. “I really, really like this place. This track is really special for a number of reasons, but, most importantly, it just puts on great races.
“Hopefully, this one event can become something that the fans really support. I know it will make an Atlanta win more special for the drivers, but just for the pure fun factor, I wished we raced here more.”

Hendrick confident about sponsorships in 2011
Quaker State Motor Oil, which has been under the hood of Hendrick Motorsports cars since 1996, will be on top of a hood for four races next year.
Quaker State—made by the Pennzoil-Quaker State division of Shell Oil Company—will serve as primary sponsor for four races on the No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Mark Martin and will remain as an associate sponsor on all the Hendrick cars.
At Friday’s Quaker State announcement at Atlanta, team owner Rick Hendrick said he expects sponsorship on all his cars to be fully subscribed next year—or close to it.
“I think the exciting thing—and the important thing—is that, in the first half of ’09, there was nobody talking about anything (with regard to sponsorship), and now there are a lot of people talking and things happening,” Hendrick said.
“I think, in general, the feeling is much better, and people are looking beyond what we’ve been through. They’re not looking backwards any more. They’re looking forward. But the economy’s still tight, and people are trying to stretch their dollars, and we’ve got to be fairly creative to make it work for everyone.”
Hendrick confirmed he has had discussions with Wal-Mart, as had been widely reported, but acknowledge the retail giant will not be a primary sponsor on any of his cars next year.

Kentucky gets second truck race in 2011
NASCAR completed the 2011 Camping World Truck Series schedule Friday by adding a race in July at Kentucky Speedway. The race is scheduled the same weekend as Kentucky’s first Sprint Cup Series race, and it gives the track two truck races. The second race is Oct. 1.
The added race is scheduled for July 7 and marks the first time the series has raced on a Thursday night since 2005. The Nationwide race is July 8, and the Cup race is set for July 9.
“The Midwest fan base has supported the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway for over 10 years,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president, racing operations. “This will be a great addition to the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race weekend.”