Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Kurt Busch defends the No. 2 car, past and present

Anyone who has watched Cup racing for any period of time knows that Cup drivers have memories like elephants. Just listen to any post-race interview with a driver who was bumped or wrecked during a race and you will hear a litany of times the driver thinks he was previously wronged by a competitor.

As a result, drivers can hold on to grudges for years. This allows a driver to keep that list of perceived wrongs at the ready to be rattled off the minute a microphone is put in his face.

All of this is standard operating procedure in the world of Sprint Cup racing. But I've never seen this practice taken to the far-reaching extent that Kurt Busch took it to after Sunday's Martinsville race.

After having his cage rattled by Jeff Gordon, Busch deliberately sent Gordon into the wall. In the post-race interview, Busch started reciting the times he had been treated roughly by the No. 24 car. He even mentioned that he had been the victim of Gordon's driving when he drove the No. 97 car. But then, in one of the most fantastic examples of historical justification for retaliation, Busch suggested that roughing up Gordon was payback for several years of unfair treatment toward the No. 2 car.

"He shoved me in there and I shoved him back in Turn 4," Busch said before detailing a history of discontent with Gordon at Martinsville. "I didn't mean to get into him that hard, but over the years with Gordon here, back in the 97 (car), wrecking the 2 car, whether you're a current Kurt fan or ex-Rusty (Wallace) fan, he's wrecked the 2 car a lot here, " Busch said.

Now that's a good memory.

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