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Tonight on XM Sports Nation (Ch. 144)
7:00PM ET - Guests on "Jimmie Johnson's 'Not What You Expected'" tonight will be North Carolina Governor Michael Easley and Virginia Tech men's head basketball coach Seth Greenberg.
7:30PM ET - Tonight on "Dale Jr. Unrestricted" Junior interviews Daytona 500 winner and California native Kevin Harvick.
I'm not doing this every week, just wanted to make sure you guys are paying attention to the tallglassofmilk's NASCAR calendar in the sidebar. There's stuff there you want to know.
TGOM will be at the speedway the majority of the weekend, so FAQs are questionable, pics guaranteed.
Until then...
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#15 Clint Bowyer: That was an insane-looking crash he had on the final lap. They should use footage of it in a commercial that says, "This is what happens when you do not drink responsibly."
and Kurt Busch on Tony Stewart Live
Matt Yocum, Co-Host:
Well, our first guest tonight, a former Nextel Cup Series champion from 2004, and your good buddy that has been at El Door [phonetic], up there for the, uh, prelude to the…
Tony “Smoke” Stewart, NASCAR Driver and Co-Host:
Came and drove a late model last year and did a great job…
Yocum:
Absolutely, he’s on the line. Kurt, where’re you callin’ from tonight?
Kurt Busch, NASCAR Driver:
What’s goin’ on, guys? I’m actually, uh, at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. It just hit halftime, so we’re gonna be all right on some of the noise here. I hope, hope we’re doin’ okay. Didn’t, uh, didn’t mean to disrespect; but, uh, we, we hadn’t been to a ball game in two months.
Yocum:
Shoot, after bein’ in Florida for ten days, I would take any opportunity you get to go do somethin’ fun that you wanna do versus everybody tellin’ us what we have to do for ten days. So, I don’t blame ya.
Busch:
I’m with ya on that. That’s cool, um, my buddy, buddy, Adam Morrison’s gettin’ some minutes in tonight, so it’s cool to see him, and just hang out for a little bit and have a Miller Light.
Yocum:
Well, cool. Well, Kurt, let’s, let’s go ahead and, and go back and, uh, you know, we can put everything to rest. Uh, I know you guys have text-messaged back and forth via the lovely Eva and, uh, Tara. So, let’s go back to the lap when you guys were coming out of turn two, and take us, from your vantage points, eh, into the, the incident that we had down in three and four.
Busch:
Yeah, it was, uh, you know, Tony just got back up to the front from, uh, his pit road penalty and he passed us with a head of steam. I was like, “Man, this guy is strong.” And so, at that point, there was no sense in fightin’ him; you know, he got by us.
Ah, there was a draft that we all got down the back straightaway. My little brother was behind me. I think, uh, Jeff Burton was in the mix, bunch ‘a fast cars all lined up. And we were—rolled down the three and four with a head of steam. And I, I started pushin’ a little bit. I looked up in the mirror to check out where other guys were, and I looked back in front ‘a me and there’s this orange twenty car [laughs] sideways. And I just—I was shell-shocked; I was froze because this guy just motored by me. And I was like, “Man, why is he sideways?”
And I, I think I messed up because the whole situation could’ve been avoided. But, you know, it, it’s, it’s one of those racin’ things where you can sit there and armchair-quarterback it a hundred different times, but it’s just so tough, Tony. And, eh, just havin’ the shot at winnin’ the Daytona 500 go out the window that quick. I mean, it takes months to prepare, but somebody can take it away in the blink of an eye.
Stewart:
Oh, yeah, exactly, and that’s what happened. I mean, literally, in, in about a four or five-second span, I mean, we went from havin’, in my opinion, the two best cars on the racetrack all day ta, ta both bein’ in the garage and, and, you know, havin’ our days be over.
But, ah, you know, uh, like you said, I mean, um, you know, we, we got a good run, and after our penalty had, had run from the back. And, uh, you know, our car was actu—our car was a little tight at that point, too, and it was important to try to get to the lead, uh, to get the, uh, push out of the car ‘cause if you could be the front guy, it made your car handle a lot better. But, uh, we had—I think we had freed the car up so much tryin’ to get through traffic ‘cause when—uh, you, you never got a chance to go back to the back like we did. But we went so far back that, uh, you know, when we got back in traffic on the first restart, it was so tight back there that I couldn’t pass anybody. I was havin’ trouble the first three our four laps just stayin’ with the pack.
So, uh, you know, as we started movin’ up, it was a situation where you wanted to, to uh, you know, you had to keep freein’ your car up if you were gonna keep movin’ forward. And then once we got up there, I, I think we were, uh, prob’ly in a position where we finally got a little too free at that point. But, ah, you know, like you said, I mean, you know, I never even lifted, the, the—you know, as fast as we’re runnin’ there, once you get those cars sideways and scrub a little speed off, and, and as close as we are to each other, uh, you know, there, there really wasn’t any, anywhere for anybody to go.
So, uh, you know, the, the good news is, I mean—with the, with the crash—and then I’d, I had heard two different reports today. I got a report that our crash was, ah, ten g’s—which I knew there was no way ‘cause I can, I can hit the wall with my fist at over ten g’s, uh…
Busch:
[Laughs]
Stewart:
You know, with the, the—I got the report from J. D. and it was over forty Gs; so, uh, you’re basically multiplying your body by forty, ah, when you hit the wall like that. But, uh, you know, like everybody said, it was a, a, a very similar accident to what, uh, we saw with Earnhardt, Senior, there. So, uh, was very, very, uh, glad that we had the soft walls. Uh, was glad that I had a Hahn’s Device on. Um, I’m just curious, are you, are you half as sore as I am today?
Busch:
Man, I’m, I’m very sore. You know, if we both hit the wall at the same speed [unintelligible], uh—would you hit it harder since you weigh more?
Stewart:
I’m, I’m down to one-eighty.
Busch:
[Laughs]
Stewart:
Uh, I, I guess—in all reality, I guess, since you’re multiplying force, yes, I, I probably did hit it a little harder than you.
Busch:
Okay.
Stewart:
But I think I was nosed in a little more, too [laughs]. I had, I had a more abrupt angle, uh, with the way it ended up. But, uh, it was, uh, you know, like I said, I mean, I’m, I’m, I’m—I’ve been sore. Yesterday, I didn’t even get out of bed ‘til about 5:00 in the afternoon. And then, uh, this morning, I actually felt good enough to, to get out in the gym and, uh, uh, to, to get on the elliptical machine and actually loosen up a little bit. So, I don’t feel too bad today. But, ah, ah, for sure it was not a, a, a accident that felt good by any means.
Yocum:
Hey, Kurt, now, when you, you look at this—and, and we were joking—Producer Paul Pabst and I, earlier—that the pack was so tight, and you guys at Daytona inch, inches apart, that if the crossover gate was open right before turn three and Smoke decided to hang a right, all you guys were gonna be going out the crossover gate because it, it was just such great, tight racing. But when you look at this incident and say—you know, you can go back and do a, a do-over and it doesn’t happen, how does the race shake out between you two because everybody basically thinks that you two had the best cars, at least the first part of the race, judging how he came back from the back of the pack and how you were running?
Busch:
Yeah, I mean it, it definitely changed the whole complexion of the race. Uh, a few years back, when Dale, Junior and Michael Waltrip were so strong—uh, one of ‘em had a tire problem, the other one blew his engine—and you would have thought that you just unleashed a bunch of piranhas out in the water ‘cause everybody [laughs] was on top of each other, climbin’ over each other, tryin’ to get to the front. And I think the same thing happened on Sunday with us two havin’ problems. It’s, uh—the floodgates were open on who was gonna take control of this race, and that’s why I think there were so many yellows afterwards.
Yocum:
If it came down to the twenty and the two, who do you guys think, uh, would have had the, the better piece at the end of the race?
Busch:
Man, I, I, I would say the twenty car was a little stronger than us, uh, but, you know, the, the eleven car was peekin’ his nose in there. But I’ll tell ya, my little brother ran very strong all day, and, and that kid, I guarantee you [laughs], thought he could win the race after both of us had trouble. So, you know, it was just a matter of being in the right position and the right time and, you know, I took, you know, both—well, I, I wanna say that I took our chances away. I just didn’t, didn’t think Tony would get sideways in front ‘a me and that’s why I was lookin’ in the mirror, mirror drivin’ so much. But we gotta get to the end, and I would’ve loved to have that shot at the two and the twenty, runnin’ up front for the win at the end because, you know, the fastest car didn’t win the Daytona 500.
Stewart:
Yeah, and I got, I gotta agree. I think, uh, I think Kurt’s one hundred percent right, there. I mean, uh, you know, with—for sure, I think it was down to the two of us, and, and I think the third car, if you throw a third one in the mix was, was Kyle. Uh, consistently all day, he had stayed up front. And even if he got shuffled back, he was able to fight his way back to, to the top three spot easily.
So, uh, I don’t know; I mean, uh, you know, I would like to think that we were in the best, best spot. I mean, I—you know, obviously, bein’ able to fight from the back, back up to the front like that, mmm, you know, gave me a lot of, uh, encouragement that we were in a good, good position. But, uh, you know, I think a lot of it depends on, you know, what happens on that last pit stop, who gets down ahead of who; and, and, that’s prob’ly gonna really give, uh, the guy in the lead the upper hand at that point. But, uh, you know it’s one of those things that for another three hundred and sixty days we’re gonna have to wait and see what happens.
Busch:
[Laughs]
Yocum:
So now, you know, you two, you two are former champions and, and you know how to come back from disappointment. As the quarterbacks, so to speak, of your teams, what do you say to your guys to try to put the disappointment of Daytona behind, knowing, that, okay, now you’re—not only you didn’t win the biggest race on the schedule, but now you’re digging yourself out of a points hole, especially with the shorter season that we have with the chase?
Busch:
Well, uh, for, for us, you know, the way that the, the shop felt and the mood around the shop was everybody was pumped up. We, we led most laps at the 500 and came out of the box strong as a second-year team. I mean, we’ve had a lotta new guys get, get blended into the program over the last year and a half. And I had a couple guys just stop by my office and close the door and sit down, and say how proud they are to work with me and, and to get this two car and twelve car to run fast.
And we know we’ve got our work cut out for us these next few, um, mile-and-a-half-style racetracks—you know, in California, Vegas, Atlanta. And then we have [unintelligible] tomorrow: uh, Bristol and Martinsville.
So, the next few weeks are interesting for us. I think Tony’s got his team a bit more established and a bit more ready to, to gain points. For us, uh, we’re just gon’ take it, take it conservative, get points where we can, and make sure we’re running at the end. That way, uh, when we, when we clear out, uh, these first five races, we’ve got enough points, uh, to be comfortable.
Yocum:
I got one more question for you, bud, before we let you get back to your ballgame. I wanna know what’s goin’ on with you and your brother and your wife here now. I mean…
Busch:
[Laughs]
Stewart:
…we’ve been through the banquet; we listened, we listened to your brother. Thank your wife and everything. I mean, uh, I mean, is there somethin’ goin’ on there we don’t know? I mean, are, are you and your brother that tight or, or you know…
Busch:
[Laughs]
Yocum:
…what’s—are you the least bit concerned he’s movin’ in on your wife? What’s goin’ on here?
Busch:
Dude, that was the first thing that I thought people would think after he slipped up like that. I’m like, “Eva, you know what this is gonna create.” She’s like, “What? What?” And I’m like, “People are gonna think there’s this freaky three-way deal goin’ on.”
Yocum:
[Laughs]
Busch:
I’m like, “I don’t share all that well; I never did when I was a kid, with my little brother.” So, you know, it was funny how Eva and I got married last summer and everything was, uh, “Kurt and Eva, Kurt and Eva.” And when he thanked Mom and Dad, “Kurt and his girlfriend, Eva,” I mean, it was like I knew what he meant…
Yocum:
[Laughs]
Busch:
…but he slipped up huge! And everybody, all night long, tapped into it. I mean, even, uh, Rick Hendrick jumped in there and said, ”Kyle, I’m not even gonna go there.”
[Laughter]
Busch:
So, you know—no, I gotta clear the air and say, hey, there’s nothin’ goin’ on except his girlfriend’s name starts with an E. His, his girlfriend’s first name is Erica. So, just a, uh—a, a solid, um—I guess, Kyle and Busch—Kyle Busch-Kurt Busch screw-up, you know what I’m sayin’?
Stewart:
[Laughs]
Yocum:
And you know what? And I saw them afterwards, and I said, “Look, Erica, this is gonna be major, major bonus for you for Christmas because you can really work this over and get some extra stuff.” And she’s like, “You know what? Eva, or Ava [phonetic], text-messaged me and she said, ‘Thank goodness it was my name that he mentioned, not anybody else.’” They were laughin’ about it pretty good.
Busch:
[Laughs]
Yocum:
She took it pretty well.
Busch:
Oh, and it—definitely a fun moment. And, man, Tony, you, you didn’t get quite get a chance to, to talk about it up on stage; you went just before. So, I, I’m sure you would’ve ripped into ‘em pretty good. That’d have been great to see.
Stewart:
Oh, I had—I am sittin’ there at the table with Tara and, between the two of us, we had all kinds of material lined up. We just didn’t get a chance to, to use any of it because bein’ eleventh, you, you get to go up before the dinner’s even served. So, uh, they, they got rid of my part early [laughs].
Busch:
Yeah. That’s all right. We’ll be workin’ on goin’ up late on stage this year, whatta ya say, bud?
Stewart:
That sounds good to me.
All right, pal—well, we appreciate ya callin’ in tonight. Enjoy your, uh, night off and enjoy the game and, uh, we’ll see ya this weekend.
Busch:
‘Preciate it, guys. Thanks for havin’ me on the show and thanks for Sirius.
Yocum:
All right, bud. Thank you.
Stewart:
Take care, buddy. Take care.
Yocum:
And that was Kurt Busch, 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion, debriefing with Smoke, uh, uh, about your little fandango down in turns three and four. And it’s nice to see that, you know, you guys, uh, don’t have any issues, that it was just one of those racing deals.
Stewart:
And it’s, it’s way too early in the year to have issues with anybody. But—no, it’s, it’s like I said, I mean, that—you know, everybody was so surprised. I mean, uh, I’ve had so many people call after [laughs], uh, after they saw the interviews, and couldn’t believe that I wasn’t on the chip about it. But it’s like I, it’s like I was tellin’ Tara and, and, uh, you know, the—my workout trainer and all that on the way home that, you know, I could be as mad—you know, it didn’t matter how mad you were; it wasn’t gonna fix anything. And, you know, he, he—you know, neither one of us had anything good come out of it.
And, you know, like you—like Kurt said, I mean, we both were in such good positions there that there’s no way that, you know, we were—at that point in the deal, you’re still just takin’ care of your car ‘cause you, you know that you got at least, at least one more pit stop comin’, and probably two.
So, uh, you know, it was, it was just a bad deal, I mean, like I said. I, uh—you know, none of us from the Home Depot team and, and, uh, you know, the Chevy people—I mean, they were ecstatic with our week. I mean, nobody on our side, uh, really had anything to complain about. We had an awesome week, winnin’ two out of three races.
And, and, uh, you know, when it’s the, the biggest race of the year like that, I mean, weird things happen. And, and you look at the rest of the race and look at all the stupid stuff that happened later on—and like Kyle, or Kurt, just said—I mean, after the two of us were out, it was just like they opened up the floodgates and everybody lost their mind. So, uh, it, it just showed everybody that, that, you know: hey, now anybody can win this race because the two best cars on the racetrack are out now.
So, uh, you know, you [unintelligible]—you know, I had days like that at Indy, where I was the best car and was gone, and, and lose the motor or somethin’ would happen. So, uh, you know, it’s just part of, part of, uh, you know, racing. And, and, you know, the thing at the end of the day with it is—just like I told Ziffy, the last thing before we walked out of the trailer, I said, “All it does is make it to where when we do actually accomplish our goal and win this race, it’s just gonna mean that much more to us.”
Yocum:
And that incident changed the complexion for the entire Daytona 500.
