NASCAR Cup Series: Kyle Busch showing hypocrisy in Kyle Larson assessment?

Did Kyle Busch demonstrate hypocrisy in his assessment of his battle with Kyle Busch in this past Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch gave his thoughts about the respect that he and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson have for one another following their intense battle on the final lap of this past Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the Overton’s 400.

On the final lap of the 267-lap Overton’s 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, Illinois, Larson dove to the inside of Busch heading into turn one and made contact with him coming out of turn two, causing Busch’s car to make slight contact with the wall.

The two drivers proceeded to drive side-by-side down the back straightaway before Larson dove to the inside of Busch once again heading into turn three. Larson cleared him, but Busch had more momentum and bumped Larson from behind, sending his #42 Chevrolet spinning.

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Meanwhile, Busch’s #18 Toyota was sent into the wall, but he was able to hang on to it and win the race by 1.875 seconds over Larson in second place.

After the race, Busch and Larson had no hard feelings for one another. However, the reactions of Busch’s fans and Busch to the fans as well as the reactions of Busch’s haters demonstrated numerous double standards that exist within the sport.

Busch may have just taken that to a whole new level with his assessment of his battle with Larson. Here is Busch’s assessment of the respect that he and Larson share for one another, according to NBC Sports.

"“See, the reason why Larson and I get along, and the reason why Larson and I can have a relationship and have respect for one another is because at Bristol I bumped him with five to go, he had a chance to come back and get me back. (Larson) didn’t get there. At Chicago, he bumped me, gave me an opportunity to come back for him, right?“Brad (Keselowski) and I can’t absolutely stand one another, hate each other, because every time he runs into me, he wrecks me and I’m out, right? Like Watkins Glen that time. There was not a chance for rebuttal.“The reason why that was a great race to the end with him and (Marcos) Ambrose is because they battled it out. But every time he just runs over me and wrecks me so there’s never a chance for that rebuttal. There’s never that camaraderie with racing. It’s just wrecking.”"

Busch acts like he wouldn’t have been mad at Larson had Larson spun him out on the final lap of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this season like Busch spun Larson out on the final lap at Chicagoland Speedway this past Sunday.

Yet last season when Joey Logano spun Busch out on the final lap of the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a battle for third place, Busch proceeded to attempt to punch Logano in the pits after the race (ICYMI: It didn’t end well for Busch).

Busch spun Larson out in literally the exact same matter than Logano spun Busch out, give or take a few inches.

Make no mistake about it; Busch’s move on Larson was completely acceptable seeing as how Larson hit him and put him into the wall first coming out of turn two. Anyone who says otherwise should seriously watch the last few laps of the race again.

But now suddenly Busch thinks he is an expert on clean racing and respect? He should have quit while he was ahead. But, then again, it’s Kyle Busch we’re talking about here.

How is Busch spinning Larson out at Chicagoland Speedway any different than Brad Keselowski wrecking Busch at Watkins Glen in 2012? Busch ruined Larson’s chance at winning on the last lap and Keselowski ruined Busch’s on the last lap. Both drivers spun the other driver out. The only difference is that Busch won one race and he didn’t win the other.

Sure, Larson still finished in second place even after spinning while Busch finished in seventh at Watkins Glen. But based on past history, and there is a ton of it, it’s very hard to picture Busch having no problem with finishing in second place in that same situation and reacting in the same classy way that Larson did.

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Do you believe that Kyle Busch’s assessment of the respect that he and Kyle Larson share for one another is hypocritical, or do you believe Busch would feel the same way if he ended up being the driver to finish in second place (or worse) as opposed to being the driver to win?

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