It isn’t often that racing spats over wrecks get super technical. It’s usually just a finger-pointing match over who hit whom and why. But after a wreck with Joey Logano in Las Vegas, Kyle Busch apparently asked to see his throttle data to determine if Logano hit him on purpose—after trying to punch him, of course.
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 12, Logano and Busch made contact on the last lap of the Monster Energy NASCR Cup Series race. The wreck sent Busch sliding down pit road for a 22nd-place finish, while Logano crossed the line in fourth. Busch went up to Logano after the race to throw a punch, and a bunch of people ended up on the ground. Neither driver got fined or penalized, oddly.
Logano told ESPN that he simply “made a mistake” under Busch and that the wreck wasn’t a retaliation, but Busch felt otherwise.
Busch and Logano had a “make nice” meeting with NASCAR officials at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, but it doesn’t sound like the two made much progress on that goal. Busch didn’t say much when asked about the feud after the meeting, instead responding to every question with: “Everything is great. I’m really looking forward to getting back in my car and being here in Phoenix.”
But that interview wasn’t the weirdest part about it all. In perhaps the most technical turn a NASCAR fight has taken in a long time, Logano told ESPN that Busch asked to see throttle data from his car at the time of the wreck in order to decide for himself if Logano hit him on purpose.
So, in this strange, technological world we live in, Logano showed Busch the throttle data as some strange form of a racing lie detector. When was the last time you had a fight this nerdy? When some kid cheated off of your practice math test in grade school?
But it didn’t really help. Busch told ESPN on Friday that he still believed the wreck to be intentional, and last time we checked, Busch said Logano’s “gonna get it” because of the wreck. So much for that.
