RELATED: Alternate view of the Busch-Logano conflict
MORE: Photos of the incident
LAS VEGAS — Leaving his wrecked No. 18 Toyota on pit road following Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch walked briskly with a purpose to Joey Logano and the No. 22 Ford. Without word, he immediately threw a punch at Logano, triggering a fight between the two on the ground and chaos on pit road involving crew men and NASCAR officials.
A Team Penske public relations employee pulled Logano forcefully away from the incident, while Busch remained on the ground, tussling with several members of the No. 22 crew in a sea of yellow fire suits. A NASCAR official pulled Busch from the brawl and he and another official restrained Busch, shouting, "Kyle!" as Busch flailed his elbows and struggled to break free.
They led him away from the scene, as the surrounding crowd reacted loudly.
"I got dumped," Busch said, a trickle of blood rolling down his forehead and onto his nose as he strode away from the track. "Flat-out just drove straight into the corner and wrecked us. That’s how Joey races, so he’s gonna get it."
Busch and Logano were running in the top five and racing hard for position on the last lap when Logano appeared to become loose and made contact with Busch’s No. 18 Toyota before the final turn, sending it spinning across the track. Logano crossed the start/finish line fourth, while Busch was 22nd.
"We were just racing hard there at the end," Logano said, red-faced after the incident. "I was underneath him on the backstretch and he tried to crash me into the corner getting underneath Brad (Keselowski) there and at that point I was just trying get through the corner. I was sideways all the way through and get into him. Nothing intentional.
"I understand his frustration, he crashed. The same thing could have happened into (Turn) 3 what he did to me."
Logano said he saw Busch walking toward him angrily at the end of the race, but there weren’t any words exchanged prior to the brawl.
"He wasn’t in a talking mood," Logano said. "He was in a fighting mood, I guess. I don’t know. Typically, you can handle this stuff like men and talk about it. You don’t have to fight, but whatever.
"I’ve never had an issue with Kyle," he continued. "Kyle and I have always raced really well together. We’ve never had an issue, but I guess that’s over."
RELATED: Drivers react to Busch-Logano fight
Busch made a trip to the infield care center after the pit-road spat, but was not called to the NASCAR hauler. No. 22 crew chief Todd Gordon, along with a handful of Team Penske crew members did visit the NASCAR hauler after the race, but on their own consensus, according to a NASCAR official. No one was called to the hauler.
Joe Gibbs Racing team owner Joe Gibbs sped away from the garage quickly on a golf cart.
NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton and NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell also stepped into the NASCAR hauler, but did not comment on the incident. A NASCAR official said the sanctioning body likely would not make any statements Sunday because officials need to review footage before any decisions are made.
