Tension between drivers began last year at Richmond
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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The rich history of altercations between Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth can be traced back to a clash between the pair of former Sprint Cup Series champions during a frantic finish last April at Richmond International Raceway.
With Kenseth leading before the green flag waved on the final restart of the Toyota Owners 400, friction between he and Keselowski on the final laps and after the checkered flag was drawn boiled over onto pit road, where the Team Penske driver made a bee line for the No. 20 Toyota with pointed finger and assumedly strong words.
"I just felt like he needed to know what was up, and I wasn't going to put up with that," Keselowski said at the time. "So I was going to make for damn sure he didn't finish third or fourth, and not win that race."
With Saturday's Toyota Owners 400 (7 p.m. ET, FOX) upon us -- and Kenseth's tackle of Keselowski in between haulers at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup still vividly playing on a reel in many minds -- it was worth checking in to see how the pair of highly talented, occasionally cantankerous drivers view the current state of their relationship.
RELATED: See the Charlotte incident as it unfolded
Truth be told, neither thinks about it a whole lot.
"I don't think it's any different than it's really ever been," Kenseth said at Bristol Motor Speedway. "I can't hardly remember last week, much less last year. I don't foresee that as something that will be an issue. I don't think it's any different and we haven't really had any problems racing each other since Charlotte last year I guess so you always hope that continues."
The pair qualified on the front row together for Sunday's Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes and Stand Up to Cancer -- which automatically would've made one wonder when, not if, sparks would fly between the two.
It was Bristol, after all.
Still, even after knowing he'd be starting the race with his No. 2 Ford alongside the No. 20, it wasn't on Keselowski's radar.
"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. I guess my take is I don't think about it that much to let it affect me either way," the 2012 champ said. "I focus on the task at hand of making the most out of this weekend and I try not to be very reflective once I get in the car and save that for when I'm out of it, but right now it's not something I've put any thought into to be honest."
As it turned out, Keselowski wrecked 19 laps into the race and spent the rest of the afternoon, evening and night just turning taps around the 0.5-mile speedway, while Kenseth snapped a 51-race winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series with a victory at Bristol.
They've raced each other cleanly thus far in 2015, and even though they might not be thinking about when the next flare up might happen, many are.
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