Finally, after what seemed like ages, Kyle Busch looked like the “Rowdy” his fans know him for. At the Texas Motor Speedway, his car was not buried in the end, but instead one that was well equipped to chase the front runners. But that was shortlived. Because by the end of the night, the same driver who once dominated here was walking away frustrated, stuck near the back and someone who was simply throwing tantrums.  And this time, his frustration wasn’t just aimed at rival drivers, it extended to his own team as well.

It all started with when Hocevar’s tried a risky move that nearly wiped Busch off. Simply frustrated, he said, “That’s the f— stupid s— that makes him a f— a—. Goddammit, dude!.” The next thing Busch heard was a comment made by his spotter, which triggered him.

“We haven’t run in the top 10 in like three years. We’re having a great day here today. Keep it together. I know it’s not perfect. Just keep your s– together; we’re having a good day,” Derek Kneeland said. To Busch it seemed like the spotter seemingly was lecturing him about his pace and asking him to stay calm. And he didn’t like it one bit.

“OK, psych major. That’s not at all what I’m talking about. Let’s keep it in one piece; that could have ruined our day. OK? It’s other people. I’m fine. Put a bag of ice in your c—, let’s go,” Busch fired.

Ahead of the race though things between Hocevar and Busch seemed different. Talking about his so-called ‘feud’ with Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar claimed that “I just enjoy racing with him a lot. We were joking around pre-race.” Maybe he said those words too soon. Because what happened on the track was definitely not a simple joke. And it makes sense once you know that Hocevar is not really in Busch’s friend list.

Busch has now famously clubbed Hocevar’s name in his “enemies list.” Busch said in conversation with Sean Hannity, “Logano’s on it, and Brad Keselowski. He was on it really hard and heavy a few years ago; he and I got into a few battles… Hocevar’s probably another one that I just don’t see eye to eye.”  So given the fact that his spotter seemed to mellow the rivalry that outburst must have happened. Also this incident was not the sole tantrum he threw.

When Busch was fighting outside the top 10, trying to get a good finish under new crew chief Andy Street, things got messy. He was running side by side with John Hunter Nemechek when he got clipped and pushed into the outside wall. Busch didn’t back off, he came back up the track and made contact, sending Nemechek into the wall as well. It’s a move that many including Kevin Harvick have called out. 

“Whether his car was in the right spot or not, Kyle drove over the front of the 42 car of Nemechek, went into the next corner, and didn’t like it and wrecked him,” Harvick said. Well, what could have been a clean race did end up a disaster.

Busch dropped to 22th and Nemechek behind in 21st. However, he was not apologetic, and instead stood his ground saying Nemechek didn’t know where his car was. In the end, Busch seems to be stuck in his old slump once again, with just 1 top 10 finish in 11 races so far.

This entire exchange is reminiscent of Busch’s conversation with Kneeland during a race nearly a year ago. But the responses between them had a stark difference that time around.

When Kneeland rebuked Kyle Busch for letting others push him around

Last year at Charlotte, when Busch’s winless streak was still 70 races, a strange conversation drew everyone’s attention towards the RCR camp. Busch had an incident with Ross Chastain during the second stage. He was rather confused about it, and unlike his usual demeanor, he calmly asked his team if it was his mistake.

“No, when I just wrecked on the front stretch two laps ago. He f– flipped me off. Was that my fault or his?” he asked.

Comparing this reaction to what Busch had in Texas today, it was significantly more family-friendly. Although his spotter responded in a manner that shocked even Kyle Busch:

“You haven’t done anything wrong. You are the one that lets everybody run you all over the track.”

Busch was silent for multiple seconds before reminding him that it was not the answer he was looking for. But it was more than a response; it was a statement directly attacking Rowdy’s ego and manners on the track. It begs a rather important question: Is the relationship between Derek Kneeland and Kyle Busch affecting the duo’s performance on track?

Only Busch and Kneeland know the answer to this mystery. But if it’s true, then why is Kneeland still with Busch?