Getty Images File photo: Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch wasted no time confronting Christopher Bell at the end of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on March 24.
Busch, no stranger to bumping on track and off, was still fuming over a minor on-track incident that spun him around. At the conclusion of the race, Busch, who finished ninth, rushed over to Bell, who managed second.
Busch got into Bell’s face, but there were no fists thrown, no shoves. Bell stood his ground, but appeared shaken.
Kyle Busch, no doubt felt that a Top 5 finish, maybe a win, was possible, had it not been for the Turn 1 incident with Bell. To be fair, Busch didn’t have a great weekend, and his ninth-place finish was not a surprise.
Will Kyle Busch Get Payback?
Kyle Busch was no doubt angry at getting spun out. The fact that Bell was involved in two notable incidents, the other one with Kyle Larson, likely made Busch feel more justified in the confrontation. In the video of the incident, Busch is seen holding up two fingers.
.@CBellRacing and @KyleBusch exchange words following the race.
Will Busch get some payback at the next race, at Richmond on Easter Sunday? Christopher Bell doesn’t think so. Bell told FOX Sports, “I’m sure we’ll talk it out before next race.”
From race video, Busch appeared partly to blame, and likely calmer heads will prevail. As Bell explained, “KB is frustrated about what happened in Turn 1, and I don’t know. They were two-wide going in there. I haven’t obviously seen a replay yet, but I had no intentions of turning him.”
Considering the two incidents, Bell’s second place finish was no doubt a joyous moment until Busch confronted him.
One of These Hits is Not Like the Other
Frankly, it’s hard to see what Busch was so upset about. His run-in with Bell was a racing incident. And Busch is as much to blame for it as Bell.
In multiple post-race interviews, Bell repeatedly suggested that the incident with Busch, while unfortunate, was certainly not only his fault.
Bell noted that “the Kyle Busch incident was a little bit different,” from the Larson incident. “I didn’t see it coming at all. You know, they entered there two-wide, and he (Busch) opened his entry up and he was so far right, and then he tried to crossover and I was there. So yeah, I didn’t mean to turn anybody, and I got both of Kyle’s today.”
It can be seen from the video, which NASCAR’s Kyle Petty reviews below, that Kyle Busch deserves at least some of the blame for the incident with Bell. This was not like the hit Bell put on Kyle Larson.
Unlike with Busch, Bell fully owned up to hitting Larson. In his post-race interview with Alex Weaver, Bell said, “I mean, well, first off the Larson incident was 100% my fault. That one was, you know, I hate saying sorry, and I didn’t mean to do it, but I clearly did not mean to spin out Kyle. At that point in the race, I was just hanging on.”
Not that Kyle Busch sees it that way.
Earlier in March, Kyle Busch went on the popular “Pat McAfee Show” and complained about “young drivers” being too eager to crash someone on track, but not throw a punch off-track.
“The younger generation is all about crashing before winning,” Busch told McAfee. Christopher Bell is younger than Busch but not a young driver. No doubt, though, the thought of younger drivers being reckless on track was still percolating with Busch.