Kyle Busch did not appreciate the commentary about his season and career trajectory from Denny Hamlin during a segment on the Actions Detrimental podcast on Monday.
Hamlin effectively said Busch is one of the greatest of all time, but also felt like Busch needed to solidly outperform teammate Austin Dillon to justify a narrative that the two-time champion is being held back by Richard Childress Racing equipment.
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Speaking to a media scrum on Saturday at Kansas Speedway, and asked about the commentary by The Athletic, Busch suggested Hamlin should drive his car before saying anything about him.
“If Denny wants to switch cars I’ll switch cars with him. Any day of the week, any time,” Busch said. “I’d love for him to show me that he can carry it better than I can.”
How much of the online chatter has Busch heard about?
“I have consumed some of it over time,” Busch said. “80 percent of people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about,” Busch said. “In this instance, I don’t know that Denny Hamlin even knows what the hell he’s talking about. He can bash me all he wants. I can certainly make his life hell.”
To be fair to what Hamlin said, his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate praised Busch and said he couldn’t compare to the two-time champion in talent, but also pondered if age has simply caught up to the performance.
Hamlin said Busch’s performance decline started at Joe Gibbs Racing and was accelerated by this current-generation car.
Regardless, Busch is 24th in the standings and seven points ahead of Dillon, and is in a contract year at 40-years-old, with no obvious place to go to resume chasing championships.
Hamlin has since responded to the clip, posting on social media: “Not really sure what I’m supposed to do. I host a podcast and I have to answer questions about relevant topics. Should I just say I dunno, everything seems fine to me? Not sure where he felt I “bashed”. I’m walking a damn tight rope here.”
Hamlin has since responded to Busch via social media.
Photos from Kansas – Saturday
Kansas – Saturday, in photos
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