It had to happen at some point. The villain, with few followers and a dark reputation, is abandoned by NASCAR’s most celebrated team in favor of the hero with a prodigious fan base. The brash Villain signs with another power-racing team and supposedly bears a grudge against the Hero, whose popularity skyrockets as he makes much more money amidst more glory despite numbers falling short of his own. A fortuitous encounter on the racetrack in the final moments at Richmond pits both drivers in a close fight for the lead. Villain and hero collide, and the latter’s best chance for long-awaited victory slips away.
This was not a fairy tale. Kyle Busch was driving the same way as the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., the unrepentant Intimidator himself, when he and Dale Earnhardt Jr. butted heads with just over three laps to go in the Dan Lowry 400. Both drivers had refused to budge with the lead on the line. The resulting spin kept Junior winless for two straight years and the last 72 races.
Busch had already argued with Steven Wallace after Friday’s Nationwide Series race, when Wallace grabbed and shoved Busch angrily by the helmet. Late the next night, Earnhardt Jr. and Busch inherited their positions when 381-lap leader Denny Hamlin developed a slow leak in one of his tires. Junior took and held the early lead on a three-wide pass before Hamlin parked his faded Toyota on the track and took a caution, which bunched the field and brought Busch, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, closer to the No. 88 Chevrolet. Hamlin, needing a better opening onto pit road, was given a two-lap penalty for causing the caution.
Dale Jr. had similarly eliminated Busch last fall at Kansas City, when he and “Rowdy” were vying for the win and Busch still had a shot at the series championship. No fewer than four crashes in Cup racing have occurred between the two since the spring of 2007, all resulting in accidents. Still, Junior felt the Richmond twist could have and should have been avoided.
The technical explanation was that by getting too close to Junior, who was outside, Busch’s No. 18 Toyota lost airflow and became too loose. Post-race tempers flared, not between Dale Jr. and “Shrub” — Busch’s least favorable nickname — but between the Earnhardt Jr. fans in attendance and some of his Hendrick crew. One of the team members who confronted Busch on pit road, Rick Pigeon, served on his No. 5 team at Hendrick Motorsports last season. Instinctive outbursts, idle threats, and considerable rancor continue to linger in Junior’s legions through the haven of email.
Mark Martin, driving the former No. 8 Junior for Dale Earnhardt Inc., finished third at Richmond, just behind Busch and race winner Clint Bowyer, who slid under to take the lead after Busch hit /Junior. Earnhardt Jr. placed 15th. Bowyer drives for Richard Childress Racing, Earnhardt Sr.’s former employer and a team that Junior turned down in favor of a Hendrick ride.
Busch and Junior had not spoken or seen each other before facing off on the track last weekend at Darlington. Both drivers are downplaying hard feelings from the May 3 race, but a rivalry of enormous impact continues to emerge.
Despite not having won in 2008, Earnhardt Jr. was still third in the points standings going into May 10. Busch, recently named Driver of the Year in the first quarter of 2008, was in first place after two wins and six top-five finishes through 10 Sprint Cup Series races. He has five more wins in the Nationwide (3) and Craftsman Truck (2) series.