JOLIET, Illinois — Brad Keselowski continued his complaints about Toyota’s dominance, and Kyle Busch offered a forceful response on Twitter Friday before Cup teams qualified at Chicagoland Speedway.
Keselowski said earlier this week that “at this moment, there’s really no reason for Toyota not to have all four spots going to Homestead,’' noting how strong those cars have been.
Keselowski continued his commentary Friday after Toyota cars took the top four spots in practice, led by Busch.
Keselowski took his issue to Twitter:
We are all in for a rude awakening.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) September 15, 2017
Haven't seen NASCAR let a manufacturer get this far ahead since the 70s https://t.co/LttpCz9vJZ
Cole Pearn, crew chief for Martin Truex Jr.'s Toyota team, was first to respond to Keselowski.
Were you alive in the 70s ? 🤔
— Cole Pearn (@colepearn) September 15, 2017
Busch then jumped into the fray with a strong message for his longtime foil.
😭 STFU https://t.co/EjexBIHWwE
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) September 15, 2017
I think he is infatuated w running into me anyway. https://t.co/sXWEklTDz2
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) September 15, 2017
Busch explained the reason for the strong response, telling NBCSN before Cup qualifying: “We watched those guys be in fast in the beginning of the year,’' he said. “We’ve watched them be fast in years past. Even when the Penske guys were with a different manufacturer they won a championship. We didn’t do our complaining on TV. We just did our complaining in the shop on Tuesdays and we went to work. That’s what we’ve done.
“I’ve just got to say of how proud I am of all our Toyota, TRD teammates and guys and teams, Furniture Row, Joe Gibbs Racing, TRD ... the whole package is there. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication from a lot of great people, and I feel like right now all he’s doing is slapping these people across the face.’'
Keselowski responded to Busch’s tweets.
It's 2017. When you're about to lose an argument you call people names rather than face facts. https://t.co/IJnFiQOAXY
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) September 15, 2017
Keselowski and Busch have been rivals for years. Keselowski wrote about their strained relationship in March 2015. Busch responded a few weeks later and said he was not thrilled with Keselowski’s comments in the blog.
Not to be forgotten, Busch’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, entered the fray on Twitter.
.@NASCAR is showing favoritism to @ToyotaRacing 😂😂 when did this start? #encumbered. Concentrate on your own program bro.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 15, 2017