Take that, Kyle.
Carl Edwards used the bump-and-run to pass Busch, who had led more than 400 consecutive laps, to win Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch responded after the race by running into the side of Edwards' car in turn 2 and then Edwards clipped Busch, spinning him, as the 160,000 fans cheered.
"He hit me getting into [turn] 1, which got me loose," Busch said. "Whatever. Carl is going to say he's sorry and doesn't want to win a race that way. We'll race him like that in the Chase if that's the way he wants to race.
"We'll see what he says when he gets wrecked."
Said Edwards: "That's the way it goes. They keep talking about rivalries. We might have one now.
"I just kind of ran into him. I had to ask myself if he would do that to me, and he's done that to me."
Busch took the lead on lap 55 and held it until lap 470 when Edwards slipped past Busch. Teammate Denny Hamlin passed Busch for second moments later. Busch didn't get back by his teammate until about 10 laps later. That gave Busch only 20 laps to chase down Edwards, who was the length of half a straightaway in the lead.
Busch, for all that he has done this season, couldn't catch Edwards. So, instead of celebrating his ninth victory of the season, Busch watched Edwards score his sixth win this year.
This marks Edwards' second consecutive victory, helping him close Busch's advantage in bonus points. Each win among the races before the Chase is worth 10 bonus points. Edwards trails Busch by 30 bonus points -- Edwards lost his 10 bonus points for his Las Vegas win after his car failed the post-race inspection.
Hamlin finished third with Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon completing the top five. Ryan Newman was sixth with Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan, in a backup car, completed the top 10.
Busch appeared to have this race won. His only concern was with restarts where Edwards car seemed faster and challenged Busch. After about five or so laps, Busch began to pull away.
Edwards' pass came five laps after a restart for a caution because of debris on the track.
It came a few moments after Edwards' crew chief, Bob Osborne, told his driver "You've got to make this happen."
Busch's dominating night came when the season standings again were juggled. Kasey Kahne fell out of the top 12 after he was involved in a seven-car crash that stopped the race on lap 216. Clint Bowyer suffered front-end damage in the incident but continued and took Kahne's spot among the top 12.
"It's disappointing," said Kahne, who was 40th for the second consecutive race. "Just blocked in. Some cars in front of me started wrecking. It's the way it goes."
Kahne's position in the points, though, is not new to him. In 2004, the first year of the Chase, he fell out of a Chase spot at Bristol and failed to make it. In 2006, Kahne left Bristol outside the Chase but raced his way into it.
The accident started when Casey Mears got hit by Michael Waltrip along the frontstretch. Waltrip rear-ended Mears at Richmond in May but Mears blamed his spotter, not Waltrip, for Saturday's crash.
"I heard clear, clear, clear and somebody was still thee," Mears said. "I like my spotter ... but, man, that's ridiculous. We took a bunch of cars out for no reason."
That was the biggest incident on a relatively calm night. The biggest complaints were for lapped cars racing the leaders hard. Still, the 160,000 fans saw a few incidents but nothing like the demolition derbies of previous years.
The race went caution-free for the first 97 laps but that didn't mean everyone avoided problems.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was penalized for jumping the start and had to pass through the pits, doing it on lap 9. He fell a lap behind the leaders and never regained it.
Jimmie Johnson, who had one top-10 finish in the last six starts at this track, made contact with Sterling Marlin on lap 25, sending Johnson's car into the wall. He hit with the right front and continued but needed repairs. He pitted twice for his team to work on the car.
By the time they were finished, he was 13 laps behind the leaders. He would finish outside the top 30.
SHARPIE 500 TOP 5
1. C. Edwards
2. Ky. Busch
3. D. Hamlin
4. K. Harvick
5. J. Gordon
Check out Dustin Long's racing blog at roanoke.com for more.
