The first race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is weeks away, but it could be argued that they started Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Late in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race — a goofily long name for a very long, often eventful, race, two of the drivers virtually certain to be major factors in the playoffs met on the high ground. Eventually, both fell.
Kyle Busch had rallied from a lap-two crash to challenge in the top five, and he was driving like a man on fire in the final 100 laps, racing toward a win that seemed an impossibility at the dawn of the race. Busch’s mangled Toyota was in no shape to win a car-show trophy, but he was pushing the crippled car beyond its limit and seeking to expand his BMS win total to eight.
Then he drove the car a few inches over the edge, crowding into the rear of Martin Truex Jr.’s Toyota as they raced for second place. The contact sent Truex sliding into the inside wall, then rocketing to the right and hard into the outside wall. J.J. Yeley’s car also slammed into the outside wall during the incident.
Busch vs. Truex. The same pair raced across the final laps of last season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Truex holding serve and winning his first Cup championship.
The normally unflappable Truex flapped Saturday night. After taking the hard ride into the wall, he pulled the steering wheel off its column and threw it angrily onto the dash.
He wasn’t done.
Truex climbed from the car, tossed his gloves, growled a bit and, for good measure, kicked his car before departing the scene.
The incident was barely over when Sherry Pollex, Truex’s long-time girlfriend, offered her opinion via Tweet: “Kyle Busch is a moron.”
Tweet:
"Sherry Pollex
@SherryPollex
Omg I can’t believe that just happened. Kyle Busch is a moron"
After the race, Busch admitted that the incident “was totally my fault. I feel terrible about that. I misjudged a little bit — four inches, six inches, you name it. I barely clipped him and sent him for a hell of a ride. I hate it that I clipped him.”
Truex had cooled down — at least for public consumption — a few minutes after the crash as he talked to media representatives. But it was clear he wasn’t happy, and it won’t be surprising if Busch’s bump is repeated — in reverse — somewhere down the road, in the playoffs or before they start.
Kyle wound up crashing again and wasn’t a factor at the finish.
Meanwhile, the “other” Busch, Kyle’s older brother Kurt, turned the misfortune of others into gold, driving with style over the closing laps and scoring his first victory of the season. Kurt was already virtually assured of a spot in the playoffs, but the win gives that invitation more shine. His big night also underlined the uncomfortable position in which he sits for a second straight year — without a contract for next season.
“It’s all about winning,” Busch said. “We’ve been the most consistent team this year that hasn’t won. I wasn’t worried about not making the playoffs, so we could kind of treat these races coming up as free-for-alls, and we’re just going to keep going after it.”
Ironically, Kurt was involved at the back end of the multi-car lap-two crash that put his brother in a deep hole. The hood of Kurt’s car was damaged, but repairs were made quickly, and he joined his brother in storming through the field.
In the end, only one survived. And thrived. And not the one many had predicted.