Punch-up in the pits bloodies Busch

Post-race scrap overshadows drama on the track at Kobalt 400

LAS VEGAS - Martin Truex Jr finished speaking to reporters after winning the NASCAR Cup Kobalt 400 on Sunday, then retreated to a corner of the media center, where a tablet awaited with the video cued up.

Truex was anxious to see the Kyle Busch-Joey Logano brawl that everybody was talking about.

"I'm sure NASCAR is going to love this one," he said.

Truex passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go and avoided a last-lap wreck and the ensuing fight that left Busch bloodied.

An aggressive Logano slammed into Busch as they raced for third, sending him spinning down pit road at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"It was nothing intentional," Logano said. "But obviously he thought it was."

As Truex headed toward victory circle, Busch walked down pit road, found Logano and smashed a right hook into his face.

Logano's crew members shoved Busch to the ground as NASCAR officials yelled at them to stop.

When Busch got to his feet, he had a bloody gash above his right eye.

"There wasn't much talking, just a lot of swinging," said Logano, who said he was unhurt. "I was racing hard there at end."

Busch, who had recovered from a speeding penalty that left him a lap down to get into contention, was escorted to the infield care center and quickly released as the track buzzed.

"I got dumped. He flat out just drove straight in the corner and wrecked me," Busch said.

"That's how Joey races, so he's going to get it."

The fight overshadowed a dominating day for Truex and a tough-luck finish for Keselowski, who appeared to be pulling away after a restart and on his way to his second win in as many weeks when he ran into mechanical problems.

"I just know it was something major," he said. "It wouldn't turn and I lost brakes."

Truex passed him and held on to become the first driver to win all three segments in NASCAR Cup's new stage racing.

Kyle Larson was second, followed by Chase Elliott, Logano and Keselowski.

Truex won the first two race stages and regained the lead with 39 laps to go after a lengthy cycle of green-flag pit stops. After a hard-charging Keselowski went in front, Danica Patrick blew an engine, bringing out a caution flag.

Patrick had to start from the back of the grid, fell a lap down in the first stage and ended up 36th after the dead engine.

Keselowski, who started from pole, beat Truex out of pit road after their four tire stops.

He chose the outside lane on the restart and shot ahead until his car slowed at the end of the 267-lap race.

That gave Toyota a win after Ford victories in the season's first two races.

"I've been on the other side of those things plenty of times, so it definitely feels good to take advantage of somebody else's issue for once," Truex said.

Denny Hamlin was sixth, followed by Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.

Jimmie Johnson was 11th, marking the first time since he became a fulltime driver in 2002 that he has failed to have a top-10 finish in the first three races.

As Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 16th, Kevin Harvick's hope of bouncing back from a disappointing finish at Atlanta lasted only 68 laps, crashing hard into the wall when his right-front tire exploded.

"It started vibrating four or five laps before it blew out," Harvick said. "I was trying to ride it to the end of the stage."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished 33rd in a backup car after a wheel problem.

Harvick was credited with a 38th-place finish a week after leading for 292 laps only to be caught speeding on pit road.

He surrendered the points lead to Keselowski. The 1.5-mile track was slick, with the temperature pushing into the 80s.

It was a rough homecoming for Daytona 500 champion Busch.

Shortly after venting his frustration over the radio, he had to come in for a new battery with 66 laps to go and wound up finishing 30th.

Busch was one of three drivers to get caught speeding on pit road, with the pass-through penalty leaving him a lap down.

Speeding has been a hot issue this season as NASCAR has gone to more precise timing lines.

Meanwhile, Harvick was annoyed at how long it took the medical crew to get to his car and transport him to the infield care center.

NASCAR for the first time this season is using a traveling set of doctors and paramedics in the hope of better consistency.

"I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven't," Harvick said.

Associated Press

Kyle Busch is escorted to the infield infirmary after a post-race fight with rival driver Joey Logano at the Kobalt 400 NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Busch and Logano made contact on the track during the last lap of the race, leading to their altercation on pit road. Chris Graythen / Getty Images / Afp