Keselowski: "We've Got War" After Nationwide Crash

Photo: Colin E. Braley/AP

Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway got a whole lot more interesting yesterday, after championship contender Kyle Busch clashed with 2012 champion Brad Keselowski in the closing laps of the Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. 

Busch and Keselowski were racing for the runner-up position with 13 laps remaining Saturday, when Busch pushed up the track and clipped Keselowski's Penske Racing Ford, sending Keselowski into the wall and out of the race. While neither driver is eligible for Nationwide Series points, their teams are embroiled in a heated battle for the 2013 owners’ championship. After the crash, Keselowski ran across the infield and pointed an accusatory finger at Busch's crew, saying he believes Busch wrecked him intentionally.  

"I got wrecked by a dirty driver," said the Michigan native afterward. "There is no other way of putting it. We've had a solid year of racing each other and now we've got war.” Asked if the incident could carry over to today’s Sprint Cup Series race, Keselowski responded, "F--k yeah, it will. He started it, and he can have fun with the results." 

While insisting the crash was accidental, Busch was unrepentant after the race. "I got tight behind him," said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. "Once we touched, he was gone.” 

He said Keselowski would be wrong to carry the dispute into Sunday’s Sprint Cup race, adding, “That goes to show you the kind of person Brad Keselowski is and the class he doesn't have. (He) knows what dirty drivers are, because he's done it plenty of times. I have yet to wreck a person on purpose." 

He reminded reporters that he was crashed by Keselowski last year at Watkins Glen International, effectively costing him a spot in the Chase. Despite being upset with the outcome, Busch said he allowed Keselowski to race for – and eventually win – the 2013 championship, without retaliating. 

"I had an opportunity to wreck him a few times throughout the Chase and didn't," Busch said. "If I wanted to, I could have cost Brad Keselowski a championship, but I'm a bigger person than that." 

Cooler heads may prevail, but late Saturday, Keselowski seemed determined to exact his pound of flesh. 

“It’s not going to last. I can tell you that,” he said. “I feel bad for (Busch’s team), because they’re going to have to fix his s--t.”