The good ol’ bump and run is alive and well in NASCAR. This time, it gave us the first last-lap pass ever at Richmond International Raceway, with Carl Edwards nudging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch out of the way for the win.
Busch led going into the final two laps at the .75-mile track, with Edwards right on his bumper. Edwards thanked crew chief Dave Rogers for encouraging him to be more aggressive in the last couple laps, as he made the clever move to tap Busch out of the way to blast on through to the finish.
NASCAR gymnastics pro Edwards told Fox Sports that the fact that both he and Busch had wins made this last-lap duel more fun than anything:
We’ve both got wins so we’re both in (the Chase), so we’re racing for fun and getting these trophies. It was just an awesome day.
Busch, however, seemed to enjoy this bout of “fun” a lot less when he spoke with the press following the race, keeping his answers short and professional, and largely avoiding the question in his Q&A with Fox Sports:
Q: Carl said maybe he felt a little bit differently about it because you both had wins, because you both were already in the Chase. Do you feel like these races are different with both of you holding a win?
BUSCH: My guys give me great race cars each and every week. We continue to have fast Camrys. We’ll be continuing to run up front and race for wins.
Given how frequently we see Busch contend for a win, I don’t think he’ll be beating himself up too long over this one.
