Pepsi 500 racers Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch deny friction after NASCAR bumps
NASCAR
The drivers were placed on probation for banging their cars after last weekend's race in Tennessee. The spat is expected to rev up interest in Sunday's race in Fontana.
Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards today downplayed any strife between them after both NASCAR drivers were put on probation for banging their cars into each other following last weekend's race.
"I don't believe it's a rivalry," Busch said before practice for Sunday's Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
"We're friends, man," said Busch, currently the Sprint Cup Series point leader with eight wins this year for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I believe we can still be friends and stuff like that and have that relationship on the racetrack.
"I might text him later and we'll go get some In-N-Out burger," Busch said. Then, in a wry observation about Edwards' physical fitness regimen, Busch added: "No, wait, he doesn't eat that stuff probably. I don't know, maybe salads."
Busch said he hadn't spoken to Edwards, who drives for Roush Fenway Racing, since Saturday's race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
In the closing stages, Edwards bumped Busch out of the lead and won, his sixth victory of the year. Busch responded by bumping into Edwards on the cool-down lap and Edwards immediately retaliated by slamming into Busch.
NASCAR put both on probation for the next six races.
Edwards said the controversy "doesn't matter, we're here to race and the racing's been pretty good."
"All this stuff this week, I kind of just got a chuckle out of it because I know deep down what he says doesn't matter to me and what I say doesn't really matter to him," Edwards said. "What really matters is we race well on the race track. I say we'll be fine."
Busch, when asked what probation meant to him, said it "means you can't do anything like you did last week again. [NASCAR] did what they thought was right."
After the Bristol race, Edwards -- who is second in points to Busch -- said that he had been the victim of a similar bumping move by Busch earlier in the year.
The aggressive Busch also was widely criticized in May after he knocked out fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. just as Earnhardt was about to win in Richmond, Va. "People always say that all I'm doing out there is running into people. . . . I'm telling you, I'm not out there to try to move anybody," Busch said today.
And while Busch denied a rivalry with Edwards, other drivers such as Earnhardt, Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne said the spat and its attendant publicity was a publicity boost for NASCAR.
"It's going to make [the race] interesting, going to make it good for the fans, and I'm a fan and I'm going to enjoy watching what they do between each other," said Kahne, who won the Fontana race on Labor Day weekend two years ago.
The drivers were scheduled to qualify later today to fill the 43-car grid for Sunday's race, which starts at 5 p.m. PDT.
james.peltz@latimes.com
