Stubborn Busch, Hamlin throw more gas on feud

CONCORD, N.C. -- Just as Kyle Busch settled into a chair in the media center Thursday, someone dropped a package in front of him.

It was a FedEx box. That's Denny Hamlin's NASCAR sponsor. Busch smiled, opened it and found a pair of boxing gloves inside.

Busch initially shrugged off the gag that came five days after his on-track altercation with Hamlin in the All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway but then sounded as if he might consider going a round or two with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. If so, Hamlin is ready.

Ding, ding.

"Kyle brings this stuff on himself, and he gets mad at the media for asking him questions about his blowups," Hamlin said. "But he does it to himself. I don't want to be part of it. Any drama that he wants to create is on him. Anything he says on the radio is on him.

"All I'm going to say, and I'm going to be done with it, is that each year I think Kyle's going to grow and he just doesn't. Until he puts it all together, that's when he'll become a champion, and right now he just doesn't have himself all together."

So much for playing nice, settling their differences in private and preventing another Sprint Cup feud.

Although Busch insisted he and Hamlin have moved on from last weekend's incident, he didn't back down from radio chatter in which he threatened to kill Hamlin.

Any regrets?

"Absolutely not," Busch said. "It was the heat of the moment and that's who I am and that's my expression and I am not going to be sorry for what I say. It's freedom of speech.

"I was frustrated. ... It was a saying that is said a lot, and take it for what it's worth. ... It wasn't joking, but it wasn't going to happen. It wasn't meant (as if Busch was going to kill him). With what? With my great looks?"

Busch sure looked intent on doing some damage Saturday night.

He attempted to pass Hamlin for the lead with 10 laps to go in the nonpoints race, but Hamlin blocked him high and forced him into the wall.

A few laps later, Busch blew a tire and crashed. He responded by lashing out at Hamlin, threatening him over his team radio and then confronting him at Hamlin's hauler after the race.

Team owner Joe Gibbs stepped in and calmed Busch down. Busch ducked reporters afterward.

"Of course I was heated after the incident," Busch said. "It surprised me and I wouldn't have expected my teammate to race me that way, but he's the leader, he's got the racetrack and I now understand that."

It remains to be seen whether they can work together, beginning Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600. Busch insisted they could. Hamlin said he's "not going to put too much effort in it, to be honest with you."

Fellow drivers found reasons to defend Busch and Hamlin in the confrontation, but several, including Busch's older brother, pointed fingers.

"My little brother, he made a mistake, got up in the fence," said Kurt Busch, who won the $1 million race. "He's been running these All-Star races for several years at 1,000 percent pace every year. It doesn't take 1,000 percent to win it."