Bodine and Busch feud
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| No. 18 Kyle Busch races fellow Toyota driver Todd Bodine hard at Kentucky Saturday night |
| Toyota |
Q: What did Kyle say to you in victory lane?
Bodine: He was just upset I called him out on TV for the way he drives and things he did on the track. He doesn't have to do those things. He doesn't have to race that way. He's a hell of a race car driver, probably one of the best the sport's ever seen and for him to be driving like that — he doesn't just do it in Trucks, he does it in every division he runs, so he doesn't discriminate. You don't have to do those things, you don't have to drive that way, but that's what he chooses to do. I finally called him out on it, nobody else will and I did.
Q: Do you regret saying it on television?
Bodine: Absolutely not. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of — Bristol, perfect example. The kid should have been black flagged in Trucks and Nationwide and (NASCAR) didn't do a damn thing about it, so now he just thinks he's going to get away with it more. What he did to me, technically, was nothing wrong. That was racing, that's part of it, but you don't have to do it. We don't have a gentleman's agreement in the trucks, but we all know in the Truck Series you have to give more room alongside somebody because you're going to get pulled around. They are way more aero-sensitive than the cars are in side-drafting and if you don't give room you're going to suck somebody around. We all try to give room because we all have a lot [smaller] budgets. We don't race for the money they race for in the other two divisions. We can't afford to be wrecking trucks and tearing stuff up. We understand that and try to give each other room.
Q: Pennell: How frustrating is it being the points leader and being in the situation you are in — running in this series and having to worry about Kyle Busch?
Bodine: That's the frustrating part. He has no respect. No respect for anybody else on that race track and that's wrong. See complete interview at Frontstretch.com
09/04/10 Kyle Busch has been called a lot of things during his career, but dirty is not one of them. So when Todd Bodine used that to reference the way he raced him in Friday night's Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway, Busch went to Victory Lane to confront the series leader. "I don't feel like I'm a dirty racer," Busch said between Sprint Cup practices at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. "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." Busch, who dominated the race only to finish seventh because Bodine and others didn't have to pit late for fuel, was in his motorcoach changing while Bodine celebrated his fourth win of the year. Busch's biggest complaint was no late caution until Bodine said on live television, "I'd like to thank Kyle for driving me dirty and pushing us down." Bodine was referring to an incident in which he spun out while Busch passed him on the high side. "I thought that was kind of low, but that's how Bodine is," said Busch, who ironically flew to Atlanta on the plane owned by Bodine's team owner, Bob Germain. "The Germain's are great people and have the utmost respect for them. Bob Germain gave me a lift down here last night, I appreciate that. It was just a matter of hard racing I thought. Bodine didn't want me racing him that hard. Maybe next time I'll lift." More at ESPN.com