Johnson, Kurt Busch offer different takes on brush

JOLIET, Ill. -- Their haulers were located no more than 25 yards apart in the Sprint Cup Series garage.

But when they climbed out of their respective cars after tangling during Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch were worlds apart in their opinions about what had just transpired between them on the 1.5-mile track.

An angry Busch thought Johnson wrecked him. A much calmer Johnson said Busch "body-slammed" him.

Race for the lead

The lead changes hands in just a few laps as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin work the bumper and Johnson and Kurt Busch trade paint.

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Objective observers of the incident on Lap 252 of the 267-lap event saw Busch, Johnson and Jeff Gordon go three-wide after Johnson had lost the race lead one lap earlier following contact he absorbed from behind by the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin. When Gordon got under Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet on the inside, with Busch riding high on the outside in his No. 2 Dodge, Johnson appeared to get loose and bump Busch unintentionally.

Busch then appeared to retaliate by deliberately turning into Johnson.

Asked what happened between the pair shortly after climbing out of his car, Johnson replied: "I'm not really sure. I don't think there really was anything. We were all just racing up off of [Turn] 4. The 24 [Gordon] got inside of me and got me a little loose, and then the 2 and I touched. When we touched, he just came down and body-slammed me, trying to get some room from me. But it was just a racing thing. The 24 got inside of me and got me sideways."

Busch described the incident a whole lot differently.

"The 48, we got run into [by him] at Sonoma, we got run into again," Busch said. "I'm starting to lose faith in his ability to be a three-time champion on the track. I'm disappointed. I gave him room and we got pounded into the fence.

"Then we had a left-rear tire rub [as a result of the contact]. Luckily we got a yellow, got 'er fixed, and finished 17th. A couple of runs were spoiled by the 48, but we kept digging." (Continued)