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Avondale, Ariz. • The first face-to-face meeting between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano since last week's post-race scuffle in Las Vegas is over. Whether the drivers feel any better about things headed into Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway is an open question.
The two were summoned to a 15-minute session Friday with NASCAR officials as everyone involved tried to put the pit road brawl to bed. Busch attempted to turn the attention to this weekend's racing at Phoenix, saying almost nothing as he emerged from the meeting. He answered every question by repeating, "Everything's great."
Logano initiated a phone conversation with Busch on Tuesday. He said after Friday's meeting it was good to sit with his former teammate and explain the on-track incident at Las Vegas was "an honest mistake."
Are the two OK?
"I guess time will tell. We'll see," Logano said. "I hope he's able to see that and know that I was sincere about it but time will tell."
The two were racing for position Sunday at Las Vegas and Busch spun because of Logano's hard racing. Busch stormed down pit road and threw a punch at Logano before crews intervened. Team Penske was not penalized for tackling Busch, even though he sustained a gash to his forehead in the scrum.
Busch repeated his "everything's great" comment to five separate questions. It was far different from what he said Sunday, when he was led away from the fracas by NASCAR officials as blood from his forehead trickled down his nose.
"I got dumped," he said then. "He flat out just drove in the corner and wrecked me. That's how Joey races so he's going to get it."
The Busch vs. Logano subplot adds heat to what already promised to be a sweaty race, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s at the track carved into the desert hills southwest of Phoenix.
Logano said he and Busch never had a problem before Sunday. But he said he would never change his aggressive driving style despite the risks.
"When you're on the edge of out of control all the time," he said, "it doesn't take much to step over it." —
Sunday's lineup
Camping World 500 lineup
At Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
(Car number in parentheses)
1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 137.321 mph.
2. (21) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 136.877 mph.
3. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 136.783 mph.
4. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevy, 136.654 mph.
5. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevy, 136.302 mph.
6. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 136.193 mph.
7. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevy, 136.152 mph.
8. (77) Erik Jones, Toyota, 136.137 mph.
9. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 135.926 mph.
10. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevy, 135.859 mph.
11. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 135.839 mph.
12. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 135.695 mph.
13. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 135.731 mph.
14. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 135.624 mph.
15. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevy, 135.603 mph.
16. (78) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 135.532 mph.
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevy, 135.405 mph.
18. (27) Paul Menard, Chevy, 135.349 mph.
19. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 135.166 mph.
20. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevy, 135.019 mph.
21. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 134.973 mph.
22. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevy, 134.821 mph.
23. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 134.469 mph.
24. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 134.394 mph.
25. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevy, 133.889 mph.
26. (10) Danica Patrick, Ford, 133.789 mph.
27. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 133.764 mph.
28. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 133.467 mph.
29. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 133.309 mph.
30. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 133.195 mph.
31. (83) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 133.062 mph.
32. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevy, 133.033 mph.
33. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevy, 133.013 mph.
34. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 132.935 mph.
35. (15) Reed Sorenson, Chevy, 132.052 mph.
36. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 131.488 mph.
37. (55) Derrike Cope, Chevy, 129.218 mph.
38. (33) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevy, 128.032 mph.
39. (51) Timmy Hill, Chevy, 126.596 mph.