Kyle Busch is willing to own up to his mistakes.
The NASCAR Cup Series driver profusely apologized to Chase Elliott for causing his wreck Wednesday night at Darlington Raceway in the Toyota 500. Busch was in third place when he tried to get back in line behind Elliott only to clip the rear of his car, sending him crashing into a wall. Busch offered his initial apology shortly after the race via Twitter.
I want to apologize again to Chase & his team. I made a mistake & misjudged the gap. I really hate that it happened for those guys. I have too much respect for Chase and Alan to do that maliciously.
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) May 21, 2020
Busch doubled down on his apology shortly thereafter.
“I’m certainly going to reach out,” Busch said, as seen in a video FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass shared via Twitter. “Him and I have always had a cordial relationship over the years. … Obviously, I made a mistake, misjudged the gap and sent him into a wall, and that was entirely unintentional. I’ll definitely reach out to him and tell him ‘I’m sorry,’ tell him ‘I hate it that it happened.’ It’s all I can do, but that doesn’t change the outcome of the night.”
Judging by Elliott’s in-the-moment reaction in what turned out to be the final lap of the rain-shortened Toyota 500, we suspect Busch might have some more groveling to do in order to return to his fellow racer’s good graces.
KYLE BUSCH TURNS CHASE ELLIOTT 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/XQMGSBrtP5
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 21, 2020
Denny Hamlin ultimately won the race.