Kyle Busch versus Denny Hamlin? Their rivals weigh in

  Teammates Greg Biffle (L) and Carl Edwards. Sometimes it's not easy being teammates out on the track. It takes work. (Photo: Autostock)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   CONCORD, N.C.
   Considering the Kyle Busch versus Denny Hamlin teammate flap, and the Jimmie Johnson-Jeff Gordon teammate flap too, well, just how are teammates supposed to race each other?
   Cautiously, it would seem, very, very cautiously.
   Particularly when you're both championship contenders.
   While Gordon and Johnson appear to have settled their differences, Hamlin and Busch are still snipping at each other over that All-Star run-in.
   Jeff Burton, with teammates of his own to deal with, says "you have to be more careful with your teammates than you do with anybody else. 
   "It's easier to make a teammate mad.
    "What Denny did Saturday night (blocking Busch high) was completely expected from the field. But when it's your teammate, it hurts your feelings. 
    "I think if the roles were reversed, the same thing would have happened. 
     "It's just when it happens with a teammate you expect more...and it's easier to get your feelings hurt. 
    "You need to go out and try to win the race...but you do have to be a little more careful. 
    "I think teammates get mad at each other more often than your competition does, because the expectation is they're going to cut you some more slack. And when they don't, it makes you mad.  You see that at Daytona and Talladega a lot.
     "I think you're wanting more than perhaps you're willing to give."
   
   

   Teammates Kevin Harvick (L) and Jeff Burton (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

    But Carl Edwards, who had to deal with teammate deal after a Talladega crash a while back, says "it is easier to handle stuff with teammates, because you have to work with them. You have to put it behind you.
     "I didn't think that (Busch-Hamlin) was that big of a deal. It was just racing and frustration.
    "I wish they would have been madder, to slow them down; but they will probably come out of it better than before. That is the way it has always been with me: You come out of it stronger -- better friends and better teammates."
   Maybe easier said than done for some....
    And it takes work, says Greg Biffle, Edwards teammate and the unanticipated victim of that too-hard bump draft at Talladega, which might have cost both men a shot at the championship: "When you are racing a teammate, there is a lot of give-and-take in the beginning or middle even of a race.
    "Then when it is down to 10 to go, or three to go, you are racing every guy the same and trying to win.
    "I still use a little caution around my teammates -- to alleviate those Monday morning meetings which are awkward.
     "Still, you have to race hard...and some things are going to happen."

   Teammates Kyle Busch (L) and Denny Hamlin (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

   

   While Burton, who didn't make the All-Star race and was thus watching from home, Jimmie Johnson had a closer view of the Hamlin-Busch battle.
   "I saw Denny being very aware of where Kyle's car was," Johnson said. "Denny was trying to be in front of him, to put him in a bad situation for air.
    "And that's what you do -- When you come to the closing laps of a race, especially the All-Star race, no points on the line, you've got to do anything and everything you can to stay in the lead and win.
    "I don't think there's a lot of fault to put anywhere.
    "I'm sure Denny and Kyle, living it, have different opinions, and point fingers at each other. But in the All-Star race you race a certain way, because of what it is.
     "I wouldn't anticipate those guys letting it carry over in a points race. I could be wrong...but just everybody drives so different in the All-Star race, and I think that's why you saw the aggressive moves."
    Teammate versus teammate? Johnson has been in a deal like that himself a couple times lately.
    "It's so much fun to watch it take place, and to hear what goes on...but when you're living it, it sucks," Johnson says with a laugh.
    "There is distraction....
    "So I'm glad it's not me.
    "It's certainly fun to watch -- and I know we entertained a lot of people a few races back when Jeff and I were going through our thing.
    "But it's a tough environment as teammates racing for wins. You have things that pop up.
    "I think those make a team stronger. A month from now Denny and Kyle will probably say they're stronger, or smarter, or have a better relationship, because of it. I know that's the way it's been with Jeff and me."
   
   

   Can Joe Gibbs keep the peace in his camp? (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

    This Busch-Hamlin thing has been high drama, which – in a Humpy Wheeler type move – someone jestfully sent Busch a FedEx package of M&Ms and boxing gloves.
   "It's entertaining, there's no doubt about it," Johnson says. "I'm just thankful it's not me in the middle of it.
    "From a competitive standpoint, I hope they keep fighting. I hope they keep entertaining us, because it's a distraction.
    "From a friendship standpoint, obviously the sooner they get it behind them, the better.
     "But I want to see it continue, because they're both fast drivers and have a chance at winning this weekend. So I hope it carries on."

   Jeff Gordon's take: "Kyle wasn't 'there.'
   "I don't really think Denny did anything wrong...and maybe Kyle expected something that wasn't there."
    But Gordon says he really can't fault Busch either for making the move.
   "With these double-file re-starts and the green-white-checkered finishes, it's going to create a lot more intensity and put guys into position to make mistakes or push the issue," Gordon says.
     "It could happen in this 600.
     "But I think if it's for the win, you've got to go for it, especially as hard as it is to pass. It's something that you've got to take advantage of when you think the opportunity is there."

   Jeff Gordon (L) comes to victory lane to congratulate teammate Jimmie Johnson (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

   
Still, was Busch's move overly aggressive, considering he should probably have assumed a hard block coming?
    Actually Busch, over his career, aside from a few early run-ins with Tony Stewart, has been a clean driver. A hard driver, yes, but not one that does a lot of wrecking....impressive, considering how often he puts himself in tough situations.
  
   Mark Martin, considered the benchmark for NASCAR driving, says "I don't have an ounce of problem, and never have, on the race track with Kyle.
   "He is very aggressive, but he keeps it within his area.
    "He's never breached my space on the track.
     "I haven't had a lot of conversation with Kyle, but he is incredibly respectful.
    "Although he may have done some things that may have turned some people off, he has also done some things that are incredibly admirable. One of the things that comes to mind is what he did for Sam Ard, who he couldn't know.
    "There is a lot more to these guys than what meets the eye.
    "Kyle has learned from experience, from watching and racing with me and Tony.
     "It's not something I preach, but I live by a code, and that code works for me.
    "It has worked well for others as well.
    

    

     The Judge: Mark Martin lives, and races, by a code (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
    

     "I was taught that code partially by people I raced with too," Martin says. "Back in Wisconsin (during his early career), we raced Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon....with the same car. No backup cars. And they only paid about $400 to win each night.
    "So you didn't need to bend a ball-joint or a tie-rod or a wheel or fix a wreck. There was enough maintenance to be done as it was.
    "The guys I raced with, we had a code....and it worked well, and we tore very little up, and we put on great shows, great racing.
     "It is a little different now, obviously, but I still try to live by the same code: I try to race people extremely hard, but with respect, and the way I want to be raced.
    "I think if I had been in either car, I would have done the same thing that either of them did, to be honest with you. That was just all out racing. All-Star racing."
      Kevin Harvick agrees: "I watched the tape and didn't really see anything wrong on Denny's part. 
    "I know there was a lot of emotion, and a lot of money on the line. So sometimes you see it differently when you're sitting there. 
    "But from TV it looked like he (Busch) really wasn't even up beside him. So it's pretty tough to lay any blame on Denny.
    "There is a lot of emotion in the car, and I can understand where Kyle's coming from. But I don't think it was even close to being matted, from what I saw.
      "I've been in those situations where I was wrong and you think you're right, and you wind up being mad about something...and you go back and look at it and say 'Man, I should have just shut up.'
    "To me, just watching it, it looks like one of those situations."

 
   
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    The team owner sometimes has a tough job as mediator: Richard Childress (C), Kevin Harvick (R), Jeff Burton (L) and Clint Bowyer (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)