"I got dumped" - When Kyle Busch took his NASCAR rivalry with Joey Logano personally
Seven years ago, Kyle Busch ended up bloodied after a fight with Joey Logano following the NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The incident started after Busch claimed Logano wrecked him. Busch was spun out during the race and he confronted Logano in the pit area.
The No. 18 M&M's Toyota was in fourth place before Logano lost control and hit Busch’s car on the 1.5-mile track. While Logano crossed the finish line in fourth place, Busch finished 22nd at the Kobalt 400 race in March 2017. Busch said in the aftermath:
"I got dumped, flat out. Just drove straight in the corner and wrecked me... It's how Joey races, so he's going to get it."
After the race ended, Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch got out of his wrecked car and went straight to Logano to throw a punch. Logano's crew stepped in and Busch had blood on his forehead from the fight.
Kyle Busch explained the following week at Phoenix Raceway why he confronted Logano.
"It was instantaneous. I made a move down the backstretch that cut Joey off — and I had to; I wasn’t just going to roll out of the gas and fall in behind Brad and probably lose spots to more guys behind me. So I made a bold move — I was two-thirds of my way past Logano, and I figured I can wedge my way through there a little bit," Busch said (via Jeff Gluck).
"And I did, and it was instantaneous retaliation. That’s what I thought and that’s kind of what I still think," he added.
Martin Truex Jr., who won the championship title in 2017, avoided the final-lap wreck and won that race in Vegas.
"I know we'll move on" - Logano on the fight with Kyle Busch
In an interview after the fight, Joey Logano shared that he was racing aggressively at the end of the race but his actions were not intentional. The Team Penske driver also mentioned that he did not get hit during the fight that broke out between their crews.
"I don't know. I was racing hard there at the end, with their Pennzoil Ford, and you know, K and I usually race really well together. We should never have any issues. He tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad, and we about crashed on entry...I was going to spin out, so I'm trying to chase it up. He was there, so obviously, nothing intentional, but obviously, he thinks that. I know we'll move on," Logano said.
Busch finished the 2017 season with five wins and eight poles. He led 2,023 laps and was second in the championship.