Alex Bowman had barely finished his post-victory obligations and his online merchandise store was already taking orders for a simple black T-shirt with the word “HACK” printed across the front in block purple letters.
If a star of the sport is going to call you a hack on live television — twice, with a pair of curse words sprinkled in — might as well make some money off of the episode.
Bowman infuriated championship contender Denny Hamlin with six laps remaining Sunday at Martinsville Speedway when he spun Hamlin out of the lead. It sent the race into overtime, which Bowman won for his fourth victory of the season. Hamlin then blocked Bowman’s car on the frontstretch to prevent a proper celebration.
It was Hamlin’s post-race assessment of Bowman that really irked the folks at Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman has insisted the contact that spun Hamlin from the lead was accidental, but Hamlin still attacked Bowman’s talent level.
The championship will be decided Sunday at sold-out Phoenix Raceway, where Hendrick has two of his four drivers into the winner-take-all finale. Reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott and title favorite Kyle Larson in a pair of Chevrolets will square off against Toyotas driven by teammates Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Meanwhile, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch should not have used a slur referring to the mentally disabled during a post-race interview and NASCAR was right to order the tempestuous driver to undergo sensitivity training, team owner Joe Gibbs said Tuesday.
Busch apologized on social media for using the slur while complaining about driver Brad Keselowski following Sunday’s race at Martinsville. NASCAR said Busch must complete the training before the start of the 2022 season because of language used in violation of NASCAR’s conduct guidelines.
Gibbs says he thinks Busch knows he shouldn't have used the word and agrees with NASCAR's response.
Busch, the Cup champion in 2015 and again in 2019, has two wins this season for Joe Gibbs Racing but failed to qualify among the championship four drivers for Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
