This weekend marks NASCAR’s comeback, as the Goodyear 400 will bring the racing world to Darlington Raceway. However, surprising events occurred at Darlington just six months ago when Kyle Busch was put into the wall with just twenty-eight laps remaining, and Chase Elliott ended up giving him the finger. Denny Hamlin, the eventual race winner, was ahead of Elliott, who had won the Cup Series in 2020. Despite being close to Elliott, Busch miscalculated the distance between himself and the eventual 2020 Cup Series champion. Busch ended up touching Elliott’s left rear, sending him tumbling into the wall.
After Elliott had exited the vehicle, he waited for Busch to circle the track once more before giving him the bird. “I don’t think he did it on purpose,” Elliott told reporters during a post-race Zoom chat. “Once more, I regret that I was the victim of a rare error on his part. I hate that I took the hit for a guy who doesn’t make many.” He added of his middle-finger salute towards Busch: “No regrets. I thought it was warranted, and I thought he was deserving.” However, following the altercation, Busch handed out his deepest apologies to Elliott, which went a long way to defusing the situation. “I genuinely think it depends on the person — how much respect you either had or didn’t have for that person prior to that moment,” Elliott added.
In Kyle’s case, we had been friends for a long time. “Because I respect him, I feel like I’ve raced him with a lot of respect. “No regrets,” he continued, giving Busch the middle-finger salute. I believed he deserved it and that it was justified. However, following the altercation, Busch handed out his deepest apologies to Elliott, which went a long way to defusing the situation. “I really think it depends on the person — how much respect you either had or didn’t have for that person prior to that moment,” Elliott said.
