FONTANA, Calif. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. understandably took an interest in last weekend’s altercation between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After all, it was only May when Earnhardt Jr. had his own run-in with Busch in the final laps at Richmond when the two drivers made contact, sending Earnhardt Jr. into the wall and ruining a possible victory.
So did Earnhardt Jr. think Edwards’ late bump-and-run of Busch was in order? What about Busch’s bump of Edwards on the cool-down lap that prompted Edwards to retaliate by spinning the Joe Gibbs Racing driver?
Bring it on, NASCAR’s most popular driver says.
“The fans are definitely more enamored in what’s happening and what’s going on [now],” he said Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “They’re a whole lot more immersed in the drama of it. They really feed off of that.”
Earnhardt Jr. added that he believes NASCAR's six-week probation levied this week against Busch and Edwards for their actions wasn't necessary.
“I thought that was a little tough and the penalties were kind of strong," he said. "It was exciting. I didn’t think they deserved to be put on probation.”
Earnhardt Jr. said the drivers not involved can actually enjoy brushes between other competitors.
“We like it, laugh at it, pick and chose our favorites and all that stuff and pick on each other a little bit,” he said. “But the fans totally eat it up, man. That’s why we need more of it.”
If Earnhardt Jr. has it his way, he’ll probably be a part of a few more controversies before his career is over. There are several drivers, he said, whom he has yet to repay for a previous misdeed on the track. And those drivers stretch all the way back to Earnhardt Jr.’s time in what is now known as the Nationwide Series.
“I’ve got a list and it’s long,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve got to get Jason Keller back before he retires. Y’all remember Myrtle Beach, my first [Busch Series] race? He come off the wall and spun me out. I was running sixth.
“I mean, it’s like Carl said [at Bristol]. I think you ask yourself, really, when you’re in that situation, ‘What would the guy do if the roles were reversed?’ And that’s how you drive people. That’s how you race people.”
As for how Earnhardt Jr. might race Busch in the future – the series returns to Richmond next weekend for the first time since their incident – Earnhardt Jr. didn’t say. In fact, he indicated that while the two have never discussed the incident, they seem to have a better understanding.
“We were in a very awkward situation at the start of the year because of the teams that we went to,” he said of the move in which he replaced Busch at Hendrick Motorsports while Busch went to Joe Gibbs Racing. “There was just so much press back and forth about him and me. We just never had the urge to reach out to each other. But more recently, the last half of the season, I think we’ve grown.
“Obviously he’s got to be super happy how things are going for him and I feel pretty good about my situation and I think we’ve grown to be able to accommodate each other.”
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