Busch isn’t worried about Almirola; Addresses ‘stay in the hauler’ comment made by his race winning driver Todd Gilliland
Last weekend, NASCAR rolled into Martinsville Speedway. Tempers boiled to the surface, across the board. As Kyle Busch chases the NASCAR Playoffs, he was in a lot of it.
Almirola drove it deep to the bottom in turn three late in the race. Busch cut down across his nose and the two made contact.
Almirola’s team radio just before the crash: “Wreck him if you have to.”
The two NASCAR drivers remained locked together. They went sideways in front of the field. Almirola’s day was done as Jimmie Johnson plowed into the side of him.
“He chopped me getting down into (Turn) 3,” Aric Almirola told NBC Sports after exiting the infield care center.
“Frustrated. We’ve got three more weeks, and I’m going to make it hell for him,” Almirola concluded.
Busch continued in the race. Broken front fenders, on both sides and salvaged a finish.
“He ran over me, so I chopped him and then we got hooked together,” Kyle Busch said after the race.
He was informed of what Almirola promised. Busch said, “Sounds good.”
Kyle Busch isn’t focused on Aric Almirola
Busch commented more on the situation mid-week.
“Look, I got a hell of a lot more than Aric Almirola to worry about every single week, OK?” Kyle Busch said via NASCAR America on NBC.
“There’s 40 other guys that would probably love to get the action in on the 18 car as well, too. Because you’re a fan favorite as soon as you do.”
“Aric’s not the only guy. There’s others that are out there. We’ll race them as we need to race them and what happens happens.”
Bubba Wallace intentionally spun out Kyle Busch earlier this year at Watkins Glen International. It drew a very positive reaction from the crowd.
Related: Busch vs everybody at Watkins Glen International (Videos)
Kyle Busch / Todd Gilliland comments
Earlier this year, Busch has been critical of Todd Gilliland for his performance in a KBM truck. Gilliland is a rookie driver in the series, driving for team owner Kyle Busch.
“I don’t know how many times last year we were in meetings and I was just yelling at him about let’s go,” Kyle Busch said in February 2019.
“Our stuff is not that slow. You have got to get up on top of the wheel and make it happen. Obviously we kind of proved that here.”
“If you want to be a star in this sport, you better perform in KBM stuff – if you don’t sorry man, there’s not much left for you,” Busch concluded of his young driver earlier this year.
Kyle Busch responds to radio comments from Todd Gilliland
Well, Todd Gilliland drove to victory lane at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. It was his first career NGOTS victory.
As soon as he won, Todd Gilliland was quick to the radio button…
“Kyle Busch you can stay in your fucking motorhome,” Gilliland said over the team radio right after the win.
Related: Todd Gilliland knocks his team owner after the Martinsville win
Busch was in the team hauler for his No. 18 machine. He was prepping with the team ahead of MENCS qualifying. Despite the comments, Busch walked to victory lane to celebrate with his KBM driver.
“I just walked up to him and said ‘Hey man, congratulations. Good job. You got it done, won your race. You and the team. Keep it going.”
“Obviously, later on I found out a little bit more. I may or may not have known before I went up there. Just handled it the way I did in the instance.”
“We talked Tuesday, over the phone. We went on to apologize. Kinda the same thing that he said on twitter.”
“I’m like, ‘Ok, it’s all fine, whatever.’ I’m not really sure that’s the first time he thought of that. Because it came out so easily.”
“Everybody’s wondering, ‘Is he fired?’ Right? No, he’s going to finish out the season,” Busch concluded.
More
Aric Almirola issues a warning to Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano fight after Martinsville Speedway (Video)
Links
Todd Gilliland | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Aric Almirola | Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR
