“Have I ever wrecked you?.. It’s f—— coming.” These aggressive words came out of Kyle Busch’s mouth during NASCAR’s 2024 visit to the Circuit of The Americas. Christopher Bell spun out Busch’s No. 8 Chevy with a light nudge, ending the latter’s race. With Busch’s ensuing rage, it looked like a solid retribution was forthcoming. But a whole year passed by, and it did not come. And with the 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Busch has calmed down even more about his rival.
Kyle Busch shaves off any blame from Bell
Kyle Busch was a force to reckon with at COTA this Sunday. Starting from the 8th place, he first took the lead from road course ringer Shane van Gisbergen himself on lap 27. The battle with the Kiwi speedster ensued for some time, and Busch emerged victorious. Overall, Busch led for a race-high 42 laps. In the end, however, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota appeared as his competitor. On lap 90, the two cars slightly collided, and Bell cleared Busch into Turn 1 and took the lead.
Even as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on to clinch the victory, his rival was not miffed. Kyle Busch showed exemplary calm in the post-race interview even after washing up in 5th place. He talked about the fender-rubbing: “The contact we made with the 20 there between 2 and 3 bent the right rear. And it was a completely different race car after that.” Busch also put it on the caution flag for his distress: “I also hated to see that yellow that came out… It had a little bit of a gap there… I was protecting my tires, I could run all the lines I wanted to run. I didn’t run defensive lines and used up my stuff even more.”
Busch’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon was spun out by Denny Hamlin while Busch had a 2 second lead in the race, and that caution changed everything. Busch did not have the tires to compete with the likes of Bell and William Byron, which ultimately led to him slipping down to a 5th-place finish. However, Busch maintained respect towards Bell after the race.
Kyle Busch: “I’ll give Christopher [Bell] credit … He ran me really hard, and I was a complete butthead.”
Rowdy talks with @kaitlynvincie after an intense battle at COTA. pic.twitter.com/lNKRhPwnLU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 3, 2025
Kyle Busch hailed Christopher Bell’s racing, aspiring to be like him. “I wish we had a little bit more at the end. I feel like maybe the two-lap pressure tires that the 20 had made the difference. All things considered, I’d love to have equal tires to the 20.” He continued his speech of appreciation, humbly taking the blame for himself. This marked a complete reversal of attitude from last year. “I’ll give Christopher credit… He ran really hard and I was a complete butthead. He did a great job working me over and just doing it the right way… So congrats to him, congrats to the 20 bunch. But I wish it was us.”
Christopher Bell also admitted to wanting to stay clear of Busch, with memories of 2024 creeping into his head as the laps dwindled. “Whenever Kyle was leading, I was just trying to be so cautious. Obviously, we know what happened last year, I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to pass him clean,” Bell said.
Clearly, time heals all conflict and wounds. Both Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell put on a great and exciting show for us!
Stay tuned for updates!
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