NASCARs most popular driver (Chase Elliott) and one of NASCARs most hated drivers (Kyle Busch) clashed towards the end of Wednesday nights Toyota 500 at the Darlington Raceway.

Busch, is a talented driver. He’s won over 200 times over the course of his NASCAR career that includes, 56 trips to victory lane in the Cup Series, 96 in the Xfinity Series and 57 more in Trucks. Hes also a two time champion in NASCARs premiere series including the most recent.

That’s why Elliott was so perturbed with Busch’s “rare mistake” at Darlington which sent his No. 9 Chevrolet crashing and Busch towards a second place finish. He knows Busch didn’t wreck him on purpose. He accepts that. It’s just that Busch rarely makes and it came at Elliott’s expense.

“It was the closing laps and we were battling for the win,” said Elliott on Friday via a zoom call. “We talked about it, and like I told him, I don’t think he wrecked me on purpose.

“I think he was trying to make a spot that wasn’t there. Much like I told him, I get that mistakes happen, that’s part of life. He’s just not a guy that makes many mistakes. For me to be on the poor end of a rare mistake is unfortunate for me and my team.

“Just hated it was me that took the blow.”

What made Elliott and his crew chief Alan Gustafson the most frustrated was that they were likely heading towards a win. Denny Hamlin in front was on old tires. They were running right behind with a fast race car. They were taken out instead for a mistake not of their making.

“I just want to go win, I thought we had a really nice opportunity,” Elliott continued. “I want nothing more than to go run well, to try and put ourselves in a position to win. It just hasn’t worked out, I’m hopeful that our day will come.”

Gustafson agreed and was the first to talk to Busch on Wednesday after the race.

“Ultimately he made a mistake and I get it. I don’t think he intentionally wrecked us,” said Busch’s former crew chief and Elliott’s current. “But, you just get tired of coming out on the wrong end of those deals too often. I certainly feel like we were in position to win that race. Denny (Hamlin) was on old tires and we were getting ready to clear Kyle (Busch) obviously. So, you get tired of getting run over like that and his explanation I’m sure is accurate but it doesn’t change at all. These guys worked their tails off on his NAPA Chevy and they deserved to win this race.”

Will this carry on past Darlington, both sides seem to want this squashed. Busch made a mistake and Elliott and his team agree and accept that.

Elliott and Busch also share a mutual respect for each other with Elliott saying he’s never had a problem with Busch and that it doesn’t change. Busch, said that Elliott is a class act and that he has no ill wills either.

Busch said on Wednesday night that he accepted blame for the incident and understands that there may be future ramifications.

“There’s no question I know I made a mistake and just misjudged the gap,” Busch said after the race. “When we were racing there with the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and the 9 (Chase Elliott) had a run on them, I knew he was there. I knew I had to get in line as quick as I could and in doing so, I watched him and his momentum that was going by me and I tried to look up in the mirror and see where (Kevin) Harvick was to get in and I just midjudged it. I made a mistake and clipped the 9 there and spun him into the wall. I hate it for him and his guys. I’ve got too many friends over there on that team to do that on purpose. I’ve raced Chase since he was a kid and didn’t have any issues with him before. It was just a bad mistake on my part and I’ll have to deal with it later on.”

While it’s all said and done, Elliott says that his actions were warranted and Busch was deserving of the one finger salute. Now, it’s done.