"He's got to learn to race": When Kurt Busch called out HMS' Jimmie Johnson following their Richmond incident

In 2011, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson exchanged fiery remarks over each other following two separate on-track incidents at Richmond. In the first incident, Busch contacted the then-five-time Cup champion's car sending the #48 into the wall.

Later in the race, Johnson spun Busch, but in doing so, damaged his racecar as well.

After the race, the two star drivers looked back on their incidents. Discussing their Richmond incident and Johnson spinning him out later in the race, Busch said (via Autoweek):

"When he came back [after the first incident], you could see it coming. That's not something you see from Jimmie every day, so I know we're in his head. But he's got to learn to race. He's been able to beat guys the last five years by just outdriving 'em with [better] equipment. If he wants to switch equipment, let's see what we can do. I'm going to beat him fair and square with my Dodge."

Sharing his version, Jimmie Johnson said he got "run over going into turn one," and was obligated to repay the favor. He also touched on their incident at Pocono in July, saying he didn't make any contact with Kurt Busch's racecar, and that instead, it was Busch who "instigated" and ran over his #48.

"If he can stop running into my Chevrolet, everything will be just fine. It's in his hands and time will tell. I passed him two or three times without touching him, then he ran me over going into turn one," Jimmie Johnson said.

It's worth mentioning that up until that point, Johnson and Busch had both had a history of feuding on the track. Some of their notable incidents include the final laps of coming together at Sonoma in 2009, New Hampshire and Homestead in 2010, and Pocono in July 2011.

---

Kurt Busch deemed Jimmie Johnson and the HMS lineup of 2010 'pretty boys'

During an interview in 2010, Kurt Busch didn't hold back on his thoughts over Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports drivers (via ESPN):

"The Hendrick guys are pretty boys."

At that time, the HMS lineup consisted of Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mark Martin. The Penske driver singled out Johnson, with whom he had an incident at Pocono that season:

"We've been wrecked by Johnson quite a few times. He says it's not intentionally. Johnson and I are fine, but it's tough when it's three [wrecked cars] against nothing out there."

When asked about the incidents, Johnson wished everything between him and Busch would settle, and that he had "nothing against him."