Kyle Busch accuses Riley Herbst of ‘bonehead moves’ in fiery response to Bristol incident

At the end of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol, Kyle Busch had waited more than 100 laps since an earlier incident on the track with Riley Herbst. But when he saw his opportunity, he didn’t hesitate.

He dumped Herbst with four laps to go, spinning him and bringing out a caution in a retaliatory move. And the incident still doesn’t seem to be sitting all that well with Busch.

“Yeah, it’s really weird with Riley because they have a nice family business out there in Nevada and I’m a part of that family business being an investor in a couple of the stores,” Busch said Saturday ahead of qualifying at Kansas. “So it’s real awkward when you can’t get along with the kid who is probably going to take over that.”

Kyle Busch wasn’t done there, either. He made it clear he’s not been a fan of the way Herbst has been racing him lately.

“It’s just bonehead moves,” Busch said. “You keep getting run over. Certainly I’m not going to take it, so that’s just part of it, I guess.”

Kyle Busch made that much clear when he sent Herbst spinning around on Lap 498, more than 100 laps after Herbst had gotten into him on Lap 313. But it’s also clear in his demeanor after the fact.

Should Herbst keep racing that way, Busch seems intent on sending a message. And it’s not a message he cares to deliver by phone or text, either.

“No,” Kyle Busch said simply, asked if he’d gotten in touch with Herbst about the incident. Fair enough.

Others have since reacted to the Busch-Herbst incident on the track. Denny Hamlin chimed in, seeming to side with Busch for the retaliatory move.

“It’s not short track racing, he wanted to pay him back. Did you listen to the team radio? They had met their fun quota on the day,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast. “Things are not going well in the Kyle Busch camp. They’re all searching. Riley got into him. [They were telling] Riley right before he got into Kyle, saying, ‘Drive right into his left rear.’ And they literally drove into his left rear. Didn’t take much, I mean, he barely touched him, but, nonetheless, it ended in the result of Kyle Busch spinning and getting crashed.

“Kyle saw an opportunity, and he took it. Did I have a problem with it? Yes and no, but more no than yes. … I don’t love the just blatant retaliation, but I’m more no than yes.”