Martin Truex Jr. beat out Brad Keselowski at Sunday’s Kobalt 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in Las Vegas, but it was another duo of drivers who made most headlines.
After the race, Kyle Busch approached Joey Logano near the pit. A furious Busch, who finished 22nd, squeezed out of his No. 18 Toyota and began walking toward Logano, who backed away, and one of his crew members immediately stepped between him and Busch to confront the latter.
Busch attempted to land blow after blow on Logano, but was unsuccessful and only left with a bloody cut on his forehead.
“Not a lot of talking,” Logano said. “Just a lot of swinging. We usually don’t have any issues.”
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Were any punches landed? “None to me,” Logano said with a smile.
Busch claimed Logano, who finished fourth, blocked him when both cars were dueling for position and attempting to pass the slowed car of Keselowski, Logano’s Team Penske teammate, on the final lap of the race. Logano got loose and into the rear of Kyle Busch’s car, causing Busch to spin onto pit road at the end.
“He tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad (Keselowski) and we about crashed on entry and I was still trying to gather it up out of center and I was going to spin out so I’m trying to chase it up and he was there,” said Logano. “I would say nothing intentional but obviously he thinks that.”
Logano doesn’t have the best relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing, especially with Busch’s teammate Matt Kenseth, who was suspended in 2015 for intentionally wrecking Logano at Martinsville.
“I don’t run from conflict,” Logano later told reporters Sunday. “You just talk about it, but [Busch] wasn’t in a talking mood. He was in a fighting mood, I guess. Typically, you can handle this stuff like men and talk about it. You don’t have to fight, but whatever.
“Kyle and I have always raced really well together. We’ve never had an issue, but I guess that’s over.”
Following the altercation, Busch clearly said he wasn’t done with Logano: “That’s how Joey races, so he’s gonna get it,” the Toyota driver said, visibly still infuriated.
With 24 laps remaining, Keselowski went low to pass Truex after having looked at the back of Truex’s No. 78 Toyota for nearly 100 laps. Three laps later, Keselowski increased his lead to more than half a second.
With 17 laps left, Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Ford blew its engine into Turn 1, leaving a trail of smoke billowing out the back.
Keselowski, who was attempting to defend his 2016 Kobalt 400 victory, said something on his car broke on the final lap. He also won last week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“I felt like the race didn’t play into our hands,” Truex said. “We got a little bit lucky there. That’s why you fight until the end.”
Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford blew a tire just past the start/finish line on Lap 70. He crashed into the wall hard, his cabin filled with smoke. After being released from the infield medical area, Harvick said, “I’m fine. Blew a tire.”
Harvick elaborated just minutes later while sitting in a golf cart in the infield: “It started vibrating about four or five laps before it blew out, and I was just trying to ride it to the end of the stage … the worst part was the medical response; it took them forever to get to the car. I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven’t … it either just cut the tire, or came apart and melted the bead.”
Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Keselowski and Chase Elliott, were among the top five in the first stage.
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 12: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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