Though not on track, the off-track Kyle “Rowdy” Busch is certainly back for his fans, thanks to his ongoing feud with his former teammate Denny Hamlin.
It all began when Hamlin took the mic on his podcast after the Bristol race to share his thoughts on Kyle Busch’s ongoing win drought. The RCR driver has remained winless for close to 3 years and 100 Cup races. In his analysis, the JGR veteran claimed that Busch hasn’t properly adapted to the Next Gen car, that his current struggles precede his time at RCR, and that a win isn’t something which would just happen unless something significantly changes in the #8 team.
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This led to a back-and-forth of comments from Busch and Hamlin about the incident, which left many fans wondering if a feud was brewing between the ex-teammates. However, Busch’s recent comments to Sean Hannity more or less confirm that the RCR driver took Hamlin’s comments quite personally.
“He’s been running his mouth lately, so he might get run into again. He’s been telling me that I’m washed up and I can’t drive anymore,” Busch said of Hamlin.
Hannity wondered if Hamlin is a villain figure in NASCAR, a title Kyle Busch was associated with for the better part of his career. “I passed it over to him. I gave him the playbook,” Busch said.
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The 2x Cup champion also claimed that Hamlin being ‘the winning driver’ at JGR is a title he succeeded from him. “He’s me. He took over my role,” the former #18 driver added.
It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time Busch has reacted to Hamlin’s comments. Ahead of the Cup race at Kansas, Kyle Busch called out Hamlin’s comments as well. The #8 driver suggested Hamlin didn’t know what he was talking about when it came to his struggles, as he made an open threat to his former teammate. “He can bash me all he wants. I can certainly make his life hell,” he said.
But while Kyle Busch seems to be riled up about the comments on Actions Detrimental, the host of the podcast and the driver on the other side of it seems to be handling it with more of a calm approach. Following Busch’s threat to make his life hell, Hamlin claimed he was simply doing his job as a podcaster.
In a pre-race interview at Kansas, Hamlin further established his approach of calm dealing with the issue, as he emphasised he had to be honest with his listeners about his thoughts. But at the same time, Hamlin established how much he respects and roots for Busch.
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“He taught me by far more than any teammate I ever was with. So I know what he’s capable of, and I know that he’s not loving where he’s at because he’s a tough competitor. I’m rooting for him,” Hamlin said.
To Hamlin’s point, the two ex-teammates raced alongside each other for 15 seasons. During that time, they elevated JGR to one of the top teams in the garage with Busch earning the majority of the wins and championships.
But while there were a lot of positive moments and progress between the teammates, there were also a few hairy moments.
Hamlin and Busch have had a history of throwing jabs at each other
In 2010, Kyle Busch threatened to ‘kill’ Denny Hamlin after the #11 driver blocked him for the lead in the All-Star race. The #18 driver eventually hit the wall and blew a tire.
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Then there was the 1-2 finish at Richmond, in the aftermath of which Busch underlined how cleanly he raced Hamlin even though he could’ve done the opposite.
This culminated in Denny Hamlin claiming that, at times, he finds it difficult to have ‘a constructive conversation’ with Busch. The #11 driver claimed that he and Busch have difficult personalities. But Busch is someone who has a way of putting his thoughts across.
“I think Kyle just has different ways of expressing the way he feels about things,” Hamlin mentioned.
While Hamlin’s comments are from 2010, they can still be read into in the light of Busch’s recent comments of threatening on-track retaliation against the #11 driver. It is highly possible that Rowdy simply vented his frustration in those words. But it is also highly possible that he meant what he said.
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Either way, Busch’s fans would be happy to see him once again living up to his nickname. Now they’d be hoping that he also lives up to his history and gets back to his winning ways.
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