Hatfields & McCoys: Keselowski-Busch Feud Has Staying Power

By Ron Lemasters Jr.

Storm clouds have a way of sneaking up on you.

One minute the sky is clear and you have no worries. The next minute, you're running for cover.

That's sort of how this Brad Keselowski-Kurt Busch dustup is looking.

The former teammates are into it but good, with each thinking the other is a complete idiot and due some payback to the max.

This can't be good.

Keselowski's Miller Lite Ford got wedged between the spinning car of Kasey Kahne and Busch's oncoming Chevrolet on the tight pit road at Martinsville, and the front end of Keselowski's car was used up. 

Busch said he got hit in the driver's side door. Keselowski said Busch ran him over.

"We jumbled up on pit road and he just drove right through me and ruined our day," the 2012 series champion said. "We probably had a race-winning car and it doesn’t matter."

Busch saw it differently.

“Brad drove into the No. 5 car on pit road and I was just going around a wrecked car and then he turned into our door," he said. "You know accidents happen on pit road and then he drug it out on the race track wanting to start some nonsense.  There is no need for that.  Brad and I we have always been good before, but it’s battle time now.” 

It certainly was. Down some 31 laps after repairs, Keselowski returned to the track with a car that looked like something out of Mad Max. He spent the next 50 or so laps stalking the 41, rubbing him all the way down the back stretch at one point, delivering a message that said, "this ain't over."

Keselowski, after the race, was no less angry. He even talked about an incident at Kentucky last year.

"He wrecked me for no reason 15-30 laps in, whatever, early in the race just being overaggressive," Keselowski seethed. "Aggressive is good, but lap 50 wrecking somebody, if you’re gonna be aggressive wreck yourself don’t wreck me.  I’ll remember that when it’s lap 50 and he needs a break and he’ll find his ass turned around in the wall just like he tore my car up.

"That stuff will come around.  Once or twice when it happens you go, ‘Oh, it happens,’ but when it happens repeatedly then you just realize who the person is that’s at fault and you just have to make sure that you show them you’re not gonna take that, and I’m not gonna take that."

For his part, Busch left some fodder for the Team Penske bulletin board himself.During the race, while Keselowski was doing his best at payback, Busch shouted into the team radio that he was going to rearrange his face...or words to that effect.

“Tell him come here," Keselowski snarled. "I’m right here. He knows where I’m at. Leave victory lane and we’ll go.”

Busch was not amused.

"I can't believe he overreacted and he's as upset as he is," the 2004 champion said. "The 5 car was trying to pull into his box, Brad ran into the back of him, I steered right to go around Brad and then he clobbers our left side door, and it's like, 'OK, accidents happen on pit road.  It's congested.' It's not a place to race, because of all the pit crew guys down there and I didn't think much of it, and then once we were back out running, he targeted us, he was aiming for us.  He tried to flatten all four of my tires.  That's a no-fly zone.  That's a punk-ass move and he will get what he gets back when I decide to give it back." 

When Busch ended up winning the race, Keselowski was even more bitter.

“That’s just racing," he said. "You can’t get caught up in that stuff. It doesn’t make you happy, but it’s just racing.”  

At the end of the day, this feud will get resolved one way or another. From what Keselowski said, however, it might be later rather than sooner.

"I still respect him. He does awesome things for charity and he’s probably the most talented race car driver, but he’s also one of the dumbest, so put those three together.”