Getty Kyle Busch celebrates a win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is leaning into some previous angry comments he made about Alex Bowman at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He released his own ‘backing into wins’ t-shirt after the trip to Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch revealed the new addition to his merchandise site on April 22. The front of the t-shirt features his signature and the text, “Rip the Lip” while the back shows the No. 18 sliding in the dirt with a checkered flag hanging out the window. “Rip the Lip while backing into a win” takes up a prominent place on the shirt.
Backed into a Bristol dirt W 🤑🗡
Get the Rip the Lip tee: t.co/iinIPYQ2lq
The shirt had been available for $26.95 USD. It was listed only as a preorder item, but Busch’s merchandise site says that it would ship within two to three weeks.
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Busch’s Shirt References Past Comments About Bowman
GettyKyle Busch made strong comments about Bowman’s first win of 2022.
“Backing into wins” is not a random phrase out of the blue. Busch previously turned heads by using this exact string of words to describe Bowman after the Hendrick Motorsports driver won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6. Though he threw in some other choice words.
“The same f****** guy who backs into every f****** win that he ever f****** gets, backs into another f****** win. Bulls***!” Busch said over his radio on March 6 after crossing the finish line, transcript courtesy of The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi.
Bowman took this rant and used it to create a t-shirt. The front of the new tee featured a recreation of the iconic sign with new text. “Alex Bowman. All Luck. No Skill” took a prominent place while dice with the Alex Bowman Racing logo rolled underneath. The rear of the shirt featured the text “backing into wins” as a direct reference to Busch’s comments.
Like previous t-shirt designs inspired by some angry drivers, there will be a portion of the proceeds that go to support animal shelters. Bowman chose the amount of 18%, which coincides with the number on the side of Busch’s Toyota Camry TRD.
Busch and Bowman had a conversation after the now-infamous radio communication, and they put the situation behind them. Bowman, in particular, explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that his fellow driver was just mad about losing his hometown race and that the rant was not meant to be disrespectful.
Busch Had Fun With the Phrase at Bristol
“I feel like Dale Earnhardt Sr. right now … I didn’t even do anything.” Kyle Busch reacts to the boos at Bristol.
The new t-shirt release is not the first time that Busch has embraced his previous comments. He also made some references to it after stunning the crowd and winning at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17.
Busch, who took the lead after Chase Briscoe sent himself and Tyler Reddick into a spin on the final lap of the Food City Dirt Race, crossed the finish line and did his signature bow with the checkered flag. He then made some comments about backing into the win both to PRN and during the post-race availability in the media room.
“I think you take ’em how you get ’em,” Busch added. “I feel like we ran up front all night long. Actually, I passed Kyle Larson – write that down. I ripped the lip, as they say, a few times there on restarts in order to get some spots and stuff like that to get us in better positions, to be in contention to be up where we needed to be.”
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