Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years. But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences and that was something he instigated with a conversation in his bus around how we each managed our racing teams. I was super eager for us to get on better terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible. We did some media together also to laugh through some of the things we put each other through many years ago. Most recently we had even been discussing him running my Late Model at Wilkesboro this summer. He seemed extremely happy and we had planned to meet up next Thursday to get his seat to the shop. He laughed over the idea of his fans and JRM fans having to cheer in unison during that race.
Kyle was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. No one can deny that. But he was also a father, a husband, brother, son, and a friend to many. My heart is broken for the Busch family. I will never be able to make sense of this loss but I am thankful that we had found a way to become friends.
just woke up. tears in my eyes watching the footage and edits and reactions. genuinely unbelievable. so thankful that this feeling is exactly what i dreamt it would feel like.
thank you, everyone.
On Cleetus radio, Carson Hocevar pops on:
"Hey Cleetus, this is Carson! I'm on pit road! They yelled at you like you were Dale Jr. when you took the lead. Proud of you, brother."
Cleetus McFarland asked spotter Kevin Hamlin to inquire with Gio Ruggiero's team about doing a "buddy restart" but Ruggiero's team said no. So now he's being coached by Hamlin (Alex Bowman's spotter) on how to side-draft the crap out of Ruggiero (like right on his door) in order to not get hung up on top and lose all his track position.
"I love nothing better than a good ol' drag race," McFarland says.