“Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!” – Dr. Peter Venkman, “Ghostbusters”
The universe experienced a major upheaval this week.
It was 8:56 a.m., Monday, May 6, to be exact, when the natural order of the NASCAR world was seemingly turned on its head.
That’s when NASCAR’s social media accounts uploaded a video announcing that its championship weekend would return to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026.
By itself, that’s a welcome development.
Rotating the championship to other tracks?
What a novel (and way behind the curve) idea!
But the vessel in which this news was announced — that two-minute video filmed outside NASCAR’s new production facility — raised an important question.
Are Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch … cool?
Have the flames of the hottest rivalry of the 2010s finally cooled?
Can Busch be in the same room with the man who claimed “Kyle Busch is an ass!” in 2010?
It’s only been a few years since Busch dumped Keselowski coming to the checkered flag of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway, infuriating Keselowski.
Right?
*Listens to earpiece*
What do you mean it’s been 12 years!?!
Wait, now you’re going to tell me that was *after* their infamous run-in on the last lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International?
IT WAS?!?
I need to lie down.
The chapters in the Busch-Keselowski saga are long and distinguished.
There’s a reason why during the 2017 Cup Series Championship 4 Media Day, with Keselowski sitting a few feet to his right, Busch said, “Sometimes you just don’t like a guy, fact of the matter.”
It’s why seeing the two drivers share a leaping high five in a scripted video involving time travel and a DeLorean felt unnatural, if not illegal.
But when you stop and think, it has been a long time since the two shared a cross word or noticeably banged sheet metal on the track.
I miss it. I’m not going to lie, anytime they get close to each other on the race track, I secretly hope for fireworks. I sat up in my seat during the 2023 Daytona 500, when both drivers were in the mix to claim their first 500 win in the final laps of regulation.
Then Daniel Suarez spun, setting up overtime and an eventual wreck that claimed both drivers.
When you get down to it, we have to accept it’s not 2011 anymore.
It’s been 15 years since the height of the Busch-Keselowski feud and they are in very different places in life.
Busch just turned 40. Keselowski is 41. Both are parents and are far removed from the peaks of their careers. Keselowski is co-owner of a Cup team and Busch is helping guide his son Brexton’s racing career.
This isn’t the first time a Busch-involved feud was smoothed over.
Remember when Kevin Harvick took a swing at Busch while the latter was still in his car on pit road after the 2011 Cup race at Darlington Raceway?
In 2018, during pre-race at — I think — Michigan International Speedway — Harvick and Busch were interviewed by TV on pit road. There was no animosity between them.
I remember asking myself: “When did that happen?”
Now here we are again. And, as much as it pains me, it’s OK.
Also, this seemingly new status quo is something Keselowski has previously expressed a desire for.
Ten years ago, in the wake of Busch being injured in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Keselowski wrote a blog post detailing his relationship with Busch.
It dated back to an encounter at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2001.
“Not having Kyle around actually made me think about our relationship,” Keselowski wrote. “Our rivalry is pretty well documented. We’ve made comments about each other that have made headlines. But the strange thing is that we actually have more in common than you’d think. When it comes to the way we race, Kyle and I share a lot of similarities. Our paths to the Cup series, in many ways, were also pretty similar.
“Yet somehow, we’ve never had much of a relationship at all. I’m not sure why, and quite honestly, I wish things were different.”
They say time heals all wounds. If that can happen for Keselowski and Busch, anything is possible.
Daniel McFadin is a 10-year veteran of the NASCAR media corp. He wrote for NBC Sports from 2015 to October 2020. He currently works full time for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and is lead reporter and an editor for Frontstretch. He is also host of the NASCAR podcast "Dropping the Hammer with Daniel McFadin" presented by Democrat-Gazette.
You can email him at danielmcfadin@gmail.com.