Kyle Busch (5) kept the fenders intact all night at Richmond. He scored two top10s in the first three short track races in 2005. Credit: Getty Images/Darrell Ingham

Kyle Busch apologizes to McMurray after tiff

Hendrick driver gets top-five after late bump at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. -- After battling each other clean for most of Saturday's Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond, things got a little ugly between Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch in the closing laps.

Then it got a little uglier after the race on pit road.

Kyle Busch Credit: Getty Images/Rusty Jarrett

"He's real mad at me and he says he's going to pay me back," said Busch. "So we'll have to wait and see what he does."

Busch got loose going into Turn 1 on Lap 394 of Saturday's race. When he tried to correct the problem, he said he nicked McMurray's No. 42 Dodge.

In the end, McMurray, who had been in position for a top-five finish, ended up 10th.

Busch said things got more heated from there.

"He kept poking at me at my face and he scratched me a couple of times, but, whatever. That's all right."

McMurray's side of the story was a bit more subdued.

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"It was a little frustrating with [Busch] there at the end," McMurray said. "He was racing hard. It's frustrating.

"He did a good job all night, but you're always upset when you're the victim."

Busch understands.

"I hate it for him," said Busch. "I shouldn't have gotten loose. I had to correct it. He raced me clean all day and I hope we can bypass this deal and go on to next week.

"If I was on the other end, I'd be just as mad as McMurray, but I'd also realize that they guy made a mistake and got into me and it's just racing."

For Busch, it was the second top-five of his brief Nextel Cup Series career. He was second at Las Vegas in March.

Perhaps more importantly, it comes after a 23rd-place run last Saturday night at Darlington that was done in by a blown tire late in the race.

"We've been able to run well everywhere we've gone and be strong and have some consistently up-front runs. We just haven't been able to finish there and to be able to finish there was really good for us."

The leading rookie of the Nextel Cup Series said that wasn't a guarantee down the stretch.

"I screwed up there right at the end," he said. "I asked for a change that would help us on a 90-lap run and we only needed a change for a 60-lap run. So, kind of my fault there."

Still, Busch knows that not only this race, but his entire rookie season is a learning experience, not only for himself, but for his team, as well.

"It just going to take time overall, being able to work with these guys and getting [my team] and [Brian Vickers' No. 25 team] together along with [Terry Labonte's] team. It's a big deal for everybody.

"We're going to achieve one goal one day and that's to be number one and we're going to get there, whether it's 2006, 7 or 8. I guarantee you one of those three years, we'll be it."