Post by slinky33 on Jun 4, 2011 23:00:59 GMT -5
NASCAR investigates fight between Childress, Kyle Busch after truck race at Kansas SpeedwayBy RANDY COVITZThe Kansas City StarRelated:NASCAR at Kansas Speedway | Saturday, June 4, 2011More NewsNone of the principals has confirmed it, but Ray Dunlap, pit reporter for SPEED, was confident in his sources to post a Twitter message that car owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch had a physical altercation after Saturday’s Camping World Trucks Series race at Kansas Speedway.“There are some eye-witnesses, crew members who were there and another driver who were right there,” Dunlap said Saturday night after he arrived home in Charlotte. “There were some punches thrown.”NASCAR director of communications for competition Kerry Tharp said that NASCAR officials were investigating the reports. Officials from both Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing, for whom Busch, 26, drives Sprint Cup cars, said there would be no comment until Sunday.The source of Childress’ frustration was Busch’s damaging the right side of RCR rookie Joey Coulter’s truck during the cool-down lap after Coulter, who finished fifth, bumped Busch’s car while the two battled for position on the final lap.“His fender must have got caught in there and tore a bunch of the truck up,” Dunlap said. “Richard was aggravated about the fact (Busch) had caused damage post-race, when it wasn’t a racing accident, it was stupidity.”Dunlap said Childress, 65, went to Busch’s garage with the intention of talking to him, but “what my friends who were there told me, said Kyle lipped off to him, and said, ‘Don’t worry about it old man,’ or something like that, and that really fired him up.“Apparently Childress had him in a headlock,” Dunlap said, “and there were multiple punches thrown but I don’t know if he was hitting him in the face or in the back of the head or what, but they said for sure, it was physical, he did throw physical punches.”During post-race interviews on pit road and in the media center, where Coulter was on the podium as the top-finishing rookie, he made light of his trading paint with Busch, who drove besides Coulter after the race.“According to his spotter, he was saying, ‘Congratulations,’’ Coulter, 20, said with a wry smile of Busch’s post-race bump. “That was a learning experience like no other. It’s amazing the kind of stuff I learned in running behind him and trying to get around him. It seemed like he knew where I was going before I did.“I hate we got together on the last lap. I had never gotten tight next to somebody, so I was underneath him expecting to get loose, and I get tight and we kind of got together.”Dunlap, who conducts the victory lane interviews, said he did not see any incidents on pit road.“That’s where it usually happens, guys jump out of the truck and have their words there,” he said, “but this spilled back into the garage, obviously.”Busch is already on probation through mid-June after an incident with RCR driver Kevin Harvick, who tried to punch Busch following the conclusion of the Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway. But Busch got away by ramming Harvick’s parked car into the wall