標籤: hate

Kyle Busch made headlines before this weekend’s NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway by suggesting he could get paid for comments he made earlier in the week about Denny Hamlin. Since Busch’s on-track performance isn’t adding anything to the feud, he’s now working behind the microphone.

In a recent interview, Busch said that Hamlin played the role of the villainous driver who is winning too much. However, they are not talking much, leaving Hamlin to “run his mouth” and say he “might have to face him again here soon” and that Busch has been “washed up” as a driver.

“He has his own podcast and he’s been running his mouth lately so he might be here again soon… He’s been telling me I’m tired and can’t drive anymore.”

RELATED: NASCAR Insider Highlights Kyle Busch’s Options in Free Agency

To set the record straight, Hamlin never said his former partner was washed up or could no longer drive. Instead, on last week’s episode of Actions Detrimental, the driver of the No. 11 car said Busch should “take it better” amid Richard Childress Racing’s ongoing struggles. Hamlin also said that anyone still holding out hope that Busch would regain his former glory as a consistent winner will be “very disappointed” because the 40-year-old “doesn’t know how to get speed out of a Next Gen car on a consistent basis.”

Hamlin, who has scored 12 Cup Series wins since his last trip to Victory Lane in Busch’s No. 8 car, also compared himself to Busch, saying he “can’t catch that guy’s helmet talent-wise”. Apparently, Bush didn’t hear that part of the segment. It’s also notable that when Busch was on the podcast last year, Hamlin credited him with developing his career.

RELATED: Denny Hamlin gives clear message on Kyle Busch’s struggles

Busch also revealed his “hate list” of fellow NASCAR drivers, which includes Carson Hocevar, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski. As with Hamlin, the only problem he may cause for them is when he’s going to lag, and probably not for the first time in that race.

NASCAR statistics support this. Over the last six races, Busch ranks 31st in average finishing position (25), which puts him well behind Hamlin (5.3, second), Keselowski (10.0, sixth), Hocevar (14.3, 13th) and even the struggling Logano (19.8, 21st).

RELATED: Kyle Busch winless streak, what’s happened since and before last win

Even in the last 15 races leading up to Talladega, Busch is 21st in average finishing position (20.6), while Hamlin is fifth (11.8), Keselowski is sixth (12.5), Logano is 12th (15.3), and even Hocevar (19.6) is slightly ahead of the future Hall of Famer. None of these drivers can really see Busch as a rival because he is not providing them any competition.

Busch’s frustration with RCR is obvious, but what has brought his struggles even more into the spotlight is that Dillon has been performing better than him this season. Both are forced to deal with RCR providing inadequate support, but the driver of the No. 3 car is handling it better and producing better results.

Notably, Hamlin did not respond to Busch’s weekend comments during Monday’s episode of Actions Detrimental. It will be interesting to see how things play out between the two drivers in the coming weeks, when Hamlin will inevitably tie Busch for a career Cup win and ultimately surpass him this season.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series all-time win list, including Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

The NBA is struggling with a big problem right now in the form of tanking. The league inadvertently has rules in place that effectively encourage teams to throw games in hopes of getting a better draft selection.

At a time when the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers have been heavily fined by the league for violating player participation policies, Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia is not saying anything about the practice.

“It’s an embarrassment, that’s totally, my point of view, tanking is a loser mentality. I’ve never been around anyone. You show me somebody who wants to lose, who thinks about losing, I’ll show you a loser, he’s a loser, that’s not my stuff,” Ishbia revealed on The Pat McAfee Show, according to a post by ClutchPoints on X.

“It’s a shame. It’s terrible. My view is that tanking is a loser mentality. … I think it’s bad for the NBA.”

Suns governor Matt Ishbia on the league’s tanking issue.

(via @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/dqK2YShWFf

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 25 February 2026

“So I don’t like to lose, I don’t ever want to talk about losing. We try to win and the draft works, if you don’t have a good team, you get a good pick. But if you intentionally trade for players and then don’t play them, try to lose games. I think it’s bad for the NBA, I think Adam Silver knows it, organizations know it, it’s got to change. It will change.

After the 2026 All-Star break, the race to the bottom has become so transparent that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was forced to impose massive financial fines against organizations openly throwing games.

“It’s fixable, and credit to Adam Silver. He knows it’s a problem, he’ll fix it. I believe he’ll fix it, but you can’t have teams like that…the incentives are misaligned right now,” Ishbia declared.

The Utah Jazz were fined a whopping $500,000 for benching healthy stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of highly competitive games against Orlando and Miami. Shortly afterward, the Indiana Pacers were fined $100,000 for resting Pascal Siakam and two other starters in violation of the league’s player participation policy.

Ishbia’s statements indicate that at least some owners in the NBA value competition above all else, even if it proves detrimental due to NBA rules.