MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) – Kyle Busch isn’t normally one to complain about the physical racing that often takes place when one of NASCAR’s series visits a track shorter than a mile.
And he scoffed at the suggestion that the racing between himself and the other drivers running up front was more cordial than usual in Saturday’s Trucks Series race at Martinsville.
He finished second after getting passed by Ron Hornaday Jr. with three laps left.
“There was as much rooting and gouging and bumping and banging up front as there was anywhere else,” Busch said. “It’s a short track. Everyone runs the same speed so you’re trying to get any position that you can and when you’re all running the same speed, the only way to do that is to run in the back of somebody and move them out of the way.”
Busch said the race on the 0.526-mile oval, the shortest and trickiest in NASCAR’s premier series, was probably a preview of what will be a physical race Sunday.
“Just disrespect, and you’ll see the same thing tomorrow,” he said. “We all run the same speed and it’s hard to pass, so guys will be running over each other and especially coming down toward the end of the race. Just all hell breaks loose, so the same thing will happen.”
—
SPECIAL TROPHY: The winner of the Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway has always received a unique trophy – a locally manufactured grandfather clock.
Ron Hornaday became the first winner in one of NASCAR’s lower series to get one with his victory in Saturday’s truck race. It was also his first victory at the track in 17 tries.
“The grandfather clock, it’s a big deal,” Hornaday said. “I’m pretty manly about stuff, and I’ve won championships and not cried, but I had a tear in my eye today.”
Hornaday has won 47 truck series races and four championships, both series highs.
—
HEAD GAMES: Count Jeff Gordon among the drivers not into late-season head games.
“You know what? Fast race cars are the best kind of mind games you can have,” the four-time champion from Hendrick Motorsports said. “In my experience, I think that’s what speaks the loudest and what we’ve been able to utilize; just going out there and performing.”
Drivers who talk about mind games?
“I think the guys that play the mind games are the ones that feel the weakest; you know, the ones that are trying to compensate for something that they’re lacking,” he said.
Add A Comment