Very few NASCAR drivers and insiders dare to lock horns with Kyle Busch, and this time, a veteran broadcaster couldn’t hold himself back. After a very tense Würth 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway, Rowdy didn’t just defend himself on track; he went straight on the offense, unloading on social media with a sharper jab: “There was 2 ft outside him… always know who you’re racing up beside.”

The remark came after a late race clash with John Hunter Nemechek that dropped him from a top 10 run to 20th. But while the two-time NASCAR champ leaned on data to make his case, not everyone in the NASCAR world is buying it.

“But I will say whether he’s(Busch) right or wrong about the position of the 42 (Nemechek), I just don’t think that the 42 deserves the result, right? I think my point is if the 42 didn’t go all the way up and they bang doors, I can see maybe a door, maybe a pushing a shove after the raise, maybe a mean tweet later. But to just junk the 42, I thought was more than one race worth of frustration for Kyle Busch,” said Steve Letarte on the Inside The Race podcast.

What looked like a long overdue turnaround for the 41-year-old unravelled in the final moments at Texas. Running inside the top 10 for much of the day, Busch’s race flipped on its head on the last lap of the 267-lap race, when a tight battle for 12 with JHN turned messy off turn 2.

The two cars squeezed together toward the backstretch wall, making initial contact before things escalated even further in Turn 3. Busch’s No. 8 car and JHN’s No. 42 collided again, this time sending Nemechek hard into the outside barrier with significant damage to the right side of the car.

From replays, it looked like Busch really made a sharp move right into Turn 3, almost like he was sending a message after the earlier contact, something that could easily catch NASCAR’s eye and put him in trouble ahead of the May 10 race at Watkins Glen.

The Legacy Motor Club driver was extremely stunned and could only ask, “Why did he do that?” as he limped to pit road while the race stayed green to the finish.

Both drivers didn’t hesitate to take this online. With Busch going off, pulling up past data. “I did not start this,” he said. “The 42 apparently doesn’t know where the RS of his car is and where he is in relation to the outside wall. There was 2 ft outside him, and I was judging my left side tires to the hash marks. Always know who you’re racing beside.”

The late chaos cost the RCR driver dearly, dropping him seven points in just two laps to finish 20th, the last car on the lead lap, while JHN settled for 21st, one lap down.

It’s definitely an infuriating result for Busch, who is looking to end his rough stretch in NASCAR, as he continues with a new crew chief, Andy Street.

It did not take long for that tension to spill on social media as both fired back with their own versions of what went down, as John Hunter Nemechek kept his comment really short.

“Not freaking clear. Great day going and just got wrecked. What an a**,” the Toyota driver wrote online.

Given their shared past, Nemechek, once racked seven truck series wins under Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021 and 2022, the clash carried extra edge. But while the tension is still hot, Busch is out for blood, making more enemies across the grid.

Busch’s enemy list grows on after a chaotic Texas race

With Jim Pohlman no longer on the radio, this wasn’t the same quiet, defeated Kyle Busch fans got used to seeing. The No. 8 driver, who was finally back when he felt he belonged, running inside the top 10, showing real pace and actually looking like a contender again.

So when Carson Hocevar threw a risky move his way, then nearly wiped him out, Busch didn’t hold back. He snapped over the radio, letting his frustration spill out in real time.

And while Hocevar didn’t retaliate, it was a sharp contrast to the pre-race tone too, where Hocevar had brushed off any tension with Busch, saying he “enjoys racing with him” and that they were “joking around.”

Out on track, there was nothing faithful about it as it was purely aggressive and a high-stakes race. The tension between the two isn’t exactly new either. Busch himself has admitted there are certain drivers he simply does not get along with, and Hocevar has an hour firmly landed on the list.

“I do,” the RCR driver admitted. “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.”

And while taxes started as a much-needed bright spot, Rowdy qualified sixth and short of the top five speed only, the cracks began to show and restart, where a lack of rear grip left, and he struggled to fire off cleanly.

By lap 197, the frustration had already boiled over once, and despite the promising pace, the race ultimately slipped away yet again, another reminder that even on a good day, Busch can’t seem to escape the slump.