Kyle Busch still critical of brother and others
MARTINSVILLE -- No one was injured when Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch crashed into each other more than three months ago.
Evidently, there was plenty of collateral damage.
While the Busch brothers' two-car accident was definitely the talk at the Nextel All-Star Challenge last May at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the two drivers involved are barely speaking.
"It's spread us apart," Kyle Busch said Tuesday during a promotional stop at Martinsville Speedway for the Oct. 21 Subway 500.
Following the incident, both siblings questioned the other's driving tactics, and Kyle Busch said it has changed their relationship.
"We're not talking all that much still," he said. "It's just been something that's been hard to go through."
The brothers spoke by telephone the week after the All-Star race but haven't since, Kyle Busch said.
Memories of the late-race collision -- triggered when Kyle Busch's Chevrolet lost grip and slid up into his brother's Dodge in Turn 2, sending both drivers into the wall and ruining their shot at victory and $1 million -- are still vivid to the younger Kyle Busch.
"Being as though it was my brother, I expected to get more room getting into the corner, and instead I got hit in the side and ended up spinning out and taking him with me," said the 22-year-old, who left the speedway that night without addressing the media. "Emotions run high in that event, and it's all for a million dollars, but you still want to be able to win it not only for yourself, but for your team and everybody that helps you out."
Kyle Busch's frosty sibling relationship is just one rocky point he's experienced this season.
First there was his denouncement of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which he drove to victory in the new car's debut event at Bristol in March.
"It sucks!" he said bluntly in a post-race interview. The comment raised the ire of NASCAR officials but did not result in a penalty.
Kyle Busch is still no fan of the new car, which will be used in five of the 10 races in the Chase for the Championship.
"Man, it's just something that's just not very fun to drive," said the four-time Cup winner, who is eighth in the points standings and needs only start Sunday's Sharp AQUOS 500 at California Speedway to clinch a spot in The Chase. "I know people hate me saying that just because I'm here and I'm fortunate to be in the position I'm in, but when you drive something that's not very fun to drive, it wears on you a little bit."
In June, HendrickMotorsports announced that Kyle Busch would not return for a fourth Cup season and named Dale Earnhardt Jr. his replacement for 2008.
What followed was an all-out bidding war for Kyle Busch, who -- other than Earnhardt -- was the most sought-after free agent of the season.
Only Jack Roush, who Kyle Busch raced for in the Craftsman Truck Series early in his career, expressed no interest in the young talent.
"I've been there and I've done that," Roush said earlier this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing showed plenty of interest in Kyle Busch. The company signed the Las Vegas native to a three-year deal this month to replace J.J. Yeley next season.
"I'm looking forward to being able to go there and basically, hopefully, them offering me a chance to be myself instead of somehow fitting into the Hendrick mold -- whatever that was," Kyle Busch said. "I'm still not sure because obviously I didn't do a very good job of that."
Kyle Busch's relationship with Hendrick Motorsports soured after his contract was not renewed. Kyle Busch later predicted he would be barred from team meetings as Brian Vickers was last season when Vickers made known his plans to leave for Team Red Bull in 2007.
Then there was the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July when Kyle Busch lost a nail biter to Jamie McMurray on the final lap. After the race, he criticized teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson for not providing enough drafting help near the finish.
Kyle Busch is hoping for better communication at Gibbs.
Maybe first, he'll talk with his brother.
"We're just going our own ways and doing our own deals," he said.
See more at www.roanoke.com
