"I'm not gonna run people over to pass" - When Jimmie Johnson addressed Kurt Busch's aggressive NASCAR moves
Jimmie Johnson expressed frustration with Kurt Busch after a close battle during a Cup Series race at Pocono 13 years ago. After Johnson tried to pass Team Penske's Busch for third place, the two made contact.
However, Busch managed to get the spot back and left Johnson's car damaged with a tire rubbing against the fender. The then five-time Cup Series champion, Johnson, went to confront Busch in the pits after the race. When a reporter asked what message he was trying to convey, Johnson said,
"More like a lot of yelling, and I worked him over for 10 or 15 laps. I had the opportunity to screw him up in this area of the turn. I had the opportunity to run into him, but I never did it, never did it." (03:47 onwards).
"I’m not going to run people over to pass them. That’s just not me, flat out. You want to race, let’s race. I didn’t know we were supposed to pull over when it came down to five to go, man. I raced him hard, raced him smart, raced him clean, and he wants to come over here and complain about it. So, hey, he came off the turn and gave me a jab to the left. I did a jab back to the right. It’s just as clean as I’ve ever seen it," he added.
Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson finished sixth in points and failed to win the Cup title that year for the first time since 2005. Tony Stewart won the 2011 Cup Championship after a tiebreaker with Carl Edwards at the final race in Homestead.
"He’s got to learn how to race" - Kurt Busch responded to Jimmie Johnson
Kurt Busch and Johnson have had many run-ins over the years. They crashed at Sonoma in 2009 and also bumped each other at New Hampshire and Homestead in 2010.
Busch responded to Johnson’s moves at Pocono, saying:
"He’s got to learn how to race. He’s been able to beat the guys the last five years by outdriving them with what he has for equipment. If he wants to switch equipment, let’s see what we can do. I’m going to beat him fair and square with my Penske Dodge."
Busch had another incident with Johnson later that year in Richmond. Busch made contact with Johnson and sent him into the wall on lap 187. Johnson got back at Busch on lap 247.
Busch later mocked Johnson but denied calling him a "five-time chump." He added that his success was because of good equipment and not skill.