BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kyle Busch hasn't spoken to Brad Keselowski since the last-lap accident that knocked Busch out of the lead Sunday in Sprint Cup's Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen International.
Busch hasn't spoken to reporters, either. He declined to share his views of the collision after the race and after Friday's qualifying session for today's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Busch had plenty of reasons to be disappointed. After taking the white flag in the lead, his No. 18 Toyota slipped in oil in the first corner. Busch went wide, to the left of the rumble strips that define the course.
Keselowski managed to keep his car to the right of the strips and took a more direct line into Turn 2.
Busch, who was never off the asphalt, returned to the racing line at a wider angle with his front quarter ahead of Keselowski, who held his line and spun Busch's Toyota.
Busch recovered to finish seventh, but the spin deprived him of a possible victory and a better chance at a wild card spot in the Chase for the Championship. Instead, Busch trails Ryan Newman for the second of two wild card berths.
Keselowski would like to see any issues he might have with Busch resolved before the Chase starts Sept. 16 in the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
"I spoke with his crew chief, Dave Rogers, and tried to get ahold of him, but every phone number that I had was bad or something," Keselowski said Friday. "Like I said after the race, it was unfortunate, because dumping the leader on the last lap is not something that I want to be known for.
"It's obviously something that happened, and everybody has got a different perspective on whether it was right, wrong or somewhere in-between. I'm probably right in the middle of that, how I feel about it.
"It certainly wasn't something that I wanted to see happen. I wasn't something that I intended to happen, but … I can't make that go away and only hope he understands as a racer that he is that things like that happen and it's just sometimes part of the breaks."
BACKING UP: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s return to Michigan isn't off to a great start.
Earnhardt, who won the Quicken Loans 400 at the track in June to snap a four-year losing streak, has to start from the back today. He rubbed against the wall in practice Saturday and needs to go to a backup car after qualifying 22nd.
"We were making some changes on the car and got the car too loose, and it just came out from under me in the corner," Earnhardt said. "I probably was running harder than I should have been in practice."
Series points leader Jimmie Johnson, who had qualified third, also will be in back because of an engine change.
Loading...