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Today, both Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch might come off as incredibly mature, calm, and collected drivers. But we shouldn’t forget that they were quite the wild ones back in their day.

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In fact, on one occasion, they themselves had an epic run in that led to quite a feud.

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In 2011, during the Cup Series race at Pocono, Johnson tried to pass Busch in the final laps. The battle was on for the third place and eventually, after the Hendrick and the Penske cars made contact on a few occasions, Busch managed to hold off the seven-timer.

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But while the race was over, the battle wasn’t. Because what followed after the checkered flag was a heated exchange between Johnson and Busch, which the former described as “more like a lot of yelling.”

What did Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch say after their exchange in the pits?

The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the higher ground as he insisted that while he had the chance to “scr*w” the Team Penske driver, he chose not to. “Then off of [Turn] 2 he claims I turned down on him and I don’t have a clue. He ran over me on the corner exit and that’s where it all started,” Johnson added.

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“I’m not going to run people over to pass them. That’s just not me. I worked on him for however many laps trying to get by him clean, fair and square and as I got next to him we had that issue off of [Turn] 2.”

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On the other hand, to Kurt Busch, what happened on the track was simply part of racing.

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“I was racing, flat out. You want to race, let’s race! I didn’t know we were supposed to pull over when it came down to five to go, I raced him hard, I raced him smart,” he said.

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“I raced him clean and he wants to come over here and b*tch about it.”

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Written by

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Shaharyar Khan Chauhan

2,079 Articles

Shaharyar is an experienced Senior NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A journalist by heart and profession, he has been at the ‘wheel’ for nearly a decade after starting with Formula 1. He has penned over 1,700 articles on the sport. Shaharyar is known for his quick reporting on controversies and feuds in NASCAR and is one of the masterminds behind "NASCAR In and Out", a Reader-Connect Program of EssentiallySports that boasts a weekly reach of fifty thousand subscribers in the US. Shaharyar believes in the conversational style of journalism, where fans are at the heart of the conversation. As a big fan of Kyle Busch, he maintains a commitment to journalistic neutrality in his coverage. A graduate of journalism from a professional university, Shaharyar blends his love for storytelling with the fast-paced nature of the sport to deliver compelling content that resonates with his readers. Despite his admiration for Kyle Busch, Shaharyar is now turning his attention to Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson, whom he believes is a legend in the making. He is always looking to bring fresh perspectives and insights to his readers and engages in healthy debates and discussions about the latest developments in NASCAR. In his free time, Shaharyar enjoys watching soccer and taking long walks to unwind.

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Ranvijay Singh

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