INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Busch was tight-lipped on whether he will pay back Corey Lajoie for his involvement and ensuing comments made after a crash in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
The incident came on a lap 121 restart in the final quarter of the race, LaJoie went low, Busch went down to block and as they went into turn 1, LaJoie had to come back up the track because he was so low and hit Busch in the left rear. That sent Busch’s Chevrolet spinning into the grass, then up the track in front of the middle of the field triggering a multi-car crash.
In last Sunday’s race, Busch was asked on TV about the situation and his response was thanking his sponsors instead of addressing the incident.
But Busch appeared on Friday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN and called LaJoie a “liar” after comments were made on LaJoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast. This came after LaJoie made some unrepentant comments after the race.
NASCAR did not penalize LaJoie for the incident at Pocono and Elton Sawyer, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition said it was “two guys racing hard.”
On Friday’s Pat McAfee Show, Busch said there was no need to talk to the driver because LaJoie is “just a liar” and that “payback is coming.”
When Busch arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the regular NASCAR Media Availability, Busch answered questions with one word:
“Nope.”
Another reporter asked him if LaJoie messed up when he was trying to bump him?
“I don’t know, you need to ask him,” Busch said.
Busch, however, would answer questions about why he was wearing Olympic-themed shoes to help support the United States Olympic Team and to help pitch a charitable event that he supports.
But when the subject veered back to the incident with LaJoie, Busch quickly became a man of few words.
“I don’t feel like I’m being back in a corner where I have to respond,” Busch said. “Racing is racing and if stuff happens, it happens.”
He said he has not had a conversation with team owner Richard Childress, who has publicly said he likes to see some aggressiveness on the track, especially when it is delivered to one of his drivers.
RCR is attempting to return its team to glory as Busch is in a disappointing season.
He plans on taking his family overseas during the lengthy break on the NASCAR schedule because its television partner, NBC, will be televising the Olympic Games in Paris.
Before that, however, is the 30th Anniversary of the Brickyard 400, a race that Busch has won twice in his career in 2015 and 2016.
Busch is friends with Pat McAfee and said the interview was “good and fair.”