MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is among the drivers who have noticed a difference in the way races transpire, which he attributes partially to the younger drivers who have integrated into NASCAR racing in recent years.
Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this week, Busch called the new way of driving both “dirty” and “greedy.”
While Busch has adapted to the style and won three races for Richard Childress Racing this season, he knows races transpire differently than they did early in his career.
“With the cars being closer and the competition being closer, you have to mess up the guy you are racing with, you have to push them out of the groove, you have to pinch them tight to make them get tight, you have to pull a slide job on them, you have to take his air,” Busch said. “It is just a different form of racing. I don’t know whether you call it dirty or you call it greedy.
“I think it is both of those things, but I have been seeing it a lot out of the younger generation, the kids and stuff like that, coming up through the ranks, how they are doing it in ARCA, how they are doing it in the Truck Series and how they are doing it in Xfinity and now it has come up to the Cup Series.
“It is just vicious cycle of how to race, but it is a hell of a lot more exciting than it once was during the Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte era where the racing was a lot cleaner,” Busch added. “You gave each other room. If a faster car fought, you let them go and hoped they’d return the favor later. Now, if they catch you, you try to hold them off as long as you can and screw them up so they don’t go by you, because track position is everything.”
• In order to be eligible for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, A.J. Allmendinger, who is only 17 points below the cutline, is going to skip practice and qualifying Saturday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America in Wisconsin.
Kaulig Racing made the decision to run Allmendinger at Road America, where he will be a favorite to win, and have Derek Kraus practice and qualify Allmendinger’s Cup Series entry at Richmond. Kraus does a lot of simulator work for Kaulig Racing.
• In his final season of Cup Series competition, Kevin Harvick is winless. But he won last summer’s race at Richmond Raceway and should be a contender as the series returns to the three-quarter-mile track.
“Richmond falls into that flat-track category, and we’ve always been really good at the flat-track stuff,” said Harvick. “As I’ve gone through the years, Richmond has just been one of those places that’s been really good. I know it’s not Rodney’s (Childers, crew chief) favorite race track to go to, but it’s one of my favorites to go to, and I’m glad we finally got to victory lane because we’ve had some good nights and some good cars there, and to be able to pull that off last year was good for everybody. Richmond is just a good short track.”
Harvick has four victories in 44 starts at Richmond.
• Kurt Busch made an appearance at a Save The Speedway rally in Nashville, as the political wheel continues to turn in the battle to renovate Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and get it back on a NASCAR national series schedule.
• Denny Hamlin was somewhat reflective regarding his 50th Cup Series victory that came last weekend at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway.
“We are guilty at times of just not understanding or enjoying the moments that we do accomplish,” Hamlin told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It takes until our career is over to really reflect on them.”
• Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Kyle Larson is the most recent active NASCAR Cup Series winner at Richmond Raceway.
The California native scored his second career Richmond win (2017, 2023) back in April. Larson returns this weekend looking to become the 12th different driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to post consecutive series wins at the three-quarter-mile track.
Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in consecutive wins at Richmond Raceway with seven consecutive victories from the September race of 1970 to the September race of 1973.
• Richmond has produced six different winners in last six races. They are beginning in 2020 and running through April’s race, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson.