Kyle Busch, Edwards try to shrug off rivalry

FONTANA, Calif. -- What rivalry?

Kyle Busch jokingly says Carl Edwards is his "bff," texting shorthand for "best friend forever." Edwards stopped short of such a commitment but said, "I feel like we really have been good competitors."

The two NASCAR Sprint Cup stars caused a sensation -- and evoked images of great rivalries past -- Saturday at Bristol when Edwards nudged a dominating Busch aside to take the lead with 30 laps to go, and the two then exchanged postrace bumps after Edwards won.

The fans at the Tennessee track ate up the action, hooting with glee. But the bumping prompted NASCAR to chastise the two drivers and later to put both of them on probation for six races.

Meanwhile, newspapers, Web sites and blogs were filled with stories about "the new rivalry."

Lending credence is a championship battle that seems to be shaping up between the two. Busch, a Las Vegas native who has been the hottest driver all season, is on top in points and with eight wins, and Edwards is second and closing in with six wins, including three in the last four races.

Although 12 drivers, including two-time reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, will be in the 10-race Chase for the championship that begins after races Sunday at Auto Club Speedway and next week at Richmond, it seems most everyone -- except Busch and Edwards -- expects those two to be the focus of the stock-car postseason.

"It's very cool to have our team running so well, to be on top of our game, and it's really fun to have somebody like Kyle that's so fast," Edwards said Friday. "There have been a couple of races where it's like either me or him, and I think that brings out the best in a lot of people.

"For us, it's been a lot of fun. Like I said, if it comes down to just him and I for the championship, that would be fine. But I have a feeling some of these other guys are gonna have something to say about that."

Busch, who was second to Edwards the past two weeks after winning the previous race, said he knows there's still work to do if his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is going to hold off the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford for the title.

So, does Busch's team need to do something specific to regain the edge? "Besides that they have a little better race car than us sometimes, then no, not really," said Busch, 23.

A rivalry usually arises between people or teams who don't like each other. Busch and Edwards shrugged off any talk about dislike off the track, even after negative comments by each after the Bristol race.

"We're friends, man," Busch said Friday. "I even joke around with guys with myself that Carl is 'bff Carl.' We're best friends. I don't believe it's a rivalry. I believe that we can still be friends and stuff like that and have that relationship on the racetrack."

Edwards, 29, echoed his younger competitor.

"When he's won this year, I've congratulated him," he said. "When I've won, he's congratulated me, and that's why all this stuff this week, I got a chuckle out of it because I know that what he says doesn't matter to me and what I say doesn't really matter to him."