FONTANA, Calif. -- Kyle Busch understands Carl Edwards' version of racing's Golden Rule, but Busch still maintains his rival got it wrong in last Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Shortly after the race's final restart, Edwards nudged the NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader out of the way on Lap 471, passed him for the lead and won the race going away.
"That's one of those deals where I couldn't get by him and I couldn't get by him and I just had to ask myself, 'Would he do that to me?'" Edwards said after the race. "And he has before, so that's the way it goes."
Busch said Friday at Auto Club Speedway that Edwards shouldn't have assumed he would use the bump-and-run tactic, had the roles been reversed.
"That's kind of the reason that I didn't go back and play payback right away," Busch said. "I could have very easily just drove off into Turn 3 and doored him right in his left-side quarter panel or something and spun him out.
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"I didn't do that. I tried to race him clean and get back by him. I bogged down a little bit by Denny (Hamlin), who got along side me, and we raced for a little bit. I never laid a tire mark on him. I got back by him, then was just too late to try to run down Carl.
"I would have certainly liked to have tried to not touch him. I certainly would rather have not hit Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. at Richmond (a late-race incident earlier this season). People always say that all I'm doing is out there running into people and knocking them out of the way, but I'm not doing it on purpose, I'm telling you."
Busch's restraint during the Bristol race didn't last beyond the checkered flag. On the cool-down lap, he bumped Edwards' No. 99 Ford. Edwards retaliated by spinning Busch, and, as a result, both earned six-race probations from NASCAR, starting with Sunday's Pepsi 500.
Johnson: Car owner role not for me: Though Jimmie Johnson respects Tony Stewart's decision to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and drive for his own team next year, don't expect the two-time defending Cup champion to look for an ownership deal any time soon.
"People are wondering what the hell he's thinking," Johnson said of newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing, in which Stewart has a 50-percent ownership stake. "He's biting off a lot. I respect him for it. I have no desire to own a car and deal with all those challenges, but if there's a guy out there who can wear both hats, it'd be Tony."
Johnson, who is one of three multiple winners in 16 races at Auto Club Speedway, needs a finish of 40th or better on Sunday to lock up a position in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Short strokes: In addition to Johnson, who has won twice at Fontana, Jeff Gordon with three victories and Matt Kenseth with two are the only other multiple winners at the two-mile speedway... Swimmer Jason Lezak, whose record anchor leg in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay final helped preserve Michael Phelps' dream of eight Olympic gold medals, will serve as an honorary race official for Sunday's Pepsi 500. Lezak grew up in nearby Irvine, Calif.
