Both brash in their own way, bordering on childish and immature, their passionate personalities engage fans. They both have given back to the sport as owners of race teams, which earns them respect as well as delivers the message that they don't just compete in NASCAR, they are invested in the sport.
So their rivalry generates incredible interest and with the likelihood of continued battles, the anticipation grows for their next one.
Keselowski races with a chip on his shoulder, refusing to get pushed around. He likes to prove other people wrong. It appears he wants to make the point that he won't allow Busch to make aggressive moves that rely on Keselowski lifting without causing an accident.
If Keselowski feels wronged, he will crowd the offender and not give an inch. Busch doesn't race as much with a chip on his shoulder as much as with the knowledge of his talent, his ability to nearly will the car to where it needs to go. Combined with an insane hatred of losing, he sometimes makes moves such as the one Saturday, determined to get that second-place spot. He probably knew he would make the move stick or possibly bang a door with Keselowski and whatever happened, happened.
Busch took the blame for their wreck Saturday, as the debate continues of whether he should have backed off or whether he had gone beyond the point of no return as far as trying to avoid an accident.
Some believe Busch did it on purpose, that he possesses enough talent to wreck someone intentionally but make it look accidental.
At least in theory, that requires motivation to pull off such a move. Known to let emotions take over, did Busch just lose control of the car with Keselowski crowding him or did he lose control of his emotions because Keselowski was racing him so tight?
Keselowski tends to let his emotions show more after events than behind the wheel. He will reach the deep end, letting the curse words fly and say what he thinks -- or maybe what he feels without really thinking.
He has the luxury of the sponsorship from Miller Lite, which doesn't mind a little outspokenness.
Busch doesn't have that luxury. Cognizant that kids cheer the M&M's car puts Busch in a little bind, requiring him to remain mindful of what he says. That's not the easiest task for a driver whose emotions and ego sometimes get the best of him, leading to a lack of respect of others in the garage and wrecking at least a couple of drivers in retaliation in dangerous fashion.
Both drivers probably would just love to punch the other and get any hard feelings out that way. But both know that they just can't go out and throw haymakers, that they remain better off doing their talking on the racetrack.
For Keselowski, the question remains of where does he do the talking. He could bring the latest Nationwide fracas into Cup races, but then he could face retaliation in Cup. Considering he plans to race in many more Chases, concerns about whether Busch will wreck him won't help him much with a championship on the line.
For Busch, the question remains how he will handle it. Keselowski appears to thrive in the drama because he views it as a challenge. Busch appears to hate the drama because he views it as an annoyance. Keselowski's lame attempt to get into Busch's head by asking about intentional wrecking at the drivers meeting hovered like a gnat around Busch.
Keselowski grew up in a racing family and was taught to fight for everything or someone will take advantage of him. In other words, it's better to race as the intimidator than the intimidated. He knows all the ways to be quietly dirty on the racetrack, as he has seen it for years. He didn't win as much as Busch at a young age and always appears trying to prove himself as a tough guy.
Busch grew up in an atmosphere that promoted an us-versus-the-world type attitude. Fight for it because no one will give a young driver from Las Vegas the benefit of the doubt.
Those two philosophies will make this a thrilling rivalry. They might differ on what rates as clean and what rates as dirty racing, but they don't differ on the mind-set that every race, every position remains a fight to the finish.
That attitude could win them championships. But that attitude could make Kansas just one of a long list of tracks where they will trade fenders and barbs while creating a potential distraction to what they truly hope to accomplish.
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