Kyle Busch thinks that NASCAR has a major respect problem, and the Richard Childress Racing driver said as much during a recent interview. While Busch didn't mention Denny Hamlin by name, his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate who was recently penalized for admitting on his podcast Actions Detrimental that he purposely wrecked Ross Chastain at Phoenix Raceway, Hamlin's actions were clearly top of mind for Busch when he made his candid claim.
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#NASCAR … Kyle Busch on driver issues on track: “We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage area between drivers.” pic.twitter.com/YBpKVKBHZ6
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) March 18, 2023
"We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage area between drivers," Busch told reporters ahead of last Sunday's Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "That's where the problem lies. Nobody gives two s***s about anybody else, and it's just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can. We're all selfish, granted. But, there was an etiquette that once did live here. Mark (Martin) started it, Tony (Stewart) really lived by it, I think Jeff (Gordon) lived by it. Bobby Labonte. Rusty (Wallace), for the most part. Dale Jarrett, for sure. So, I mean, it did exist. That's gone."
Busch went on to say that he's tried to get some of the young drivers onboard with moving back to the days of respect and etiquette by pulling them aside and talking sense to them, but admitted that "they don't listen, so I've lost interest in talking to them." So, what's Busch's plan B approach? It's actually pretty straightforward.
"When you intentionally drive over somebody because they made a move on you or something that you didn't like, then, you know, you're gonna get punched in the face afterwards," Busch said.
Hey, not exactly the mostly respectful way to deal with things, but as a guy who has gotten in more than a few post-race fights in his day (earning him the nickname Rowdy as a result), Busch has clearly seen the effectiveness of a good old fashioned pit road dust-up from time to time.
