"I’m just here so I don’t get fined" - Kyle Busch once gave an irritated response after contact with Garrett Smithley

On September 15 about five years ago, Kyle Busch gave an irritated response to the media following his on-track contact with Garrett Smithley at the first playoff race in Las Vegas. Busch was asked about the contact but he wasn’t having any of the questions.

The frustrations stemmed from a contact with Garrett Smithley who he was trying to lap. Busch thought Smithley, who was 12 laps down in the No. 52 Ford, would move but stayed on his lane, thus resulting in contact and damage to the front end of his No. 18 Toyota.

The No. 24 and No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevys safely passed Smithley when the then-Joe Gibbs Racing driver made contact with him.

Busch and Smithley finished in 19th and 35th, respectively, with Martin Truex Jr. taking the overall victory at the 2019 South Point 400 in Las Vegas. During the post-race interview, the then-34-year-old made his frustations known to the media by saying:

“I’m just here so I don’t get fined."

Despite the now two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion's frustrations, the media didn’t stop barraging him with questions. One reporter asked Busch if he felt okay about his overall chances at Homestead, the final race of the 2019 season.

“Don’t care,” he quickly responded.

The then-Joe Gibbs Racing driver had enough and asked if he could go before leaving prematurely.

“I’m answering the dumbest f*cking questions over and over again. Am I good?” Busch said.

The drama carried on after the race when Kyle Busch responded to comments made by Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase - the two drivers Busch had racing incidents with in Las Vegas.

Here are the comments via NASCAR’s Zack Albert:

“He’s never been in the position we’ve been in, so he doesn’t know how that goes. That’s the way I see it,” Smithley said.

“And if he wants to switch cars, I’d be happy to,” Gase said.

The two Xfinity Series drivers defended themselves against Kyle Busch by comparing their cars to his playoff-contending JGR car. They said Busch doesn't understand them from their standpoint due to the difference in performance. Smithley also argued two cars passed him even though he only held his line.

In response, the now 39-year-old driver slammed the two drivers and said:

“Top tier drivers get hired by top tier teams. Try winning […] a lot […] and [you] have a better shot of getting hired,” Busch stated.

Smithley and Gase later shared their personal stories on Twitter about their struggles coming up in the sport.

To this day, Kyle Busch still competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with Richard Childress Racing since 2023. Meanwhile, Garrett Smithley and Joey Gase are part-time drivers in the Xfinity Series.

Kyle Busch didn’t hold back on social media as well

Even after the Las Vegas race, Kyle Busch responded to his critics regarding his racing incident with Garrett Smithley. In one of the tweets he replied to, the driver explained what happened and said he “can’t predict everything all the time.”

“Trust me man […] if I could have moved up or down without crashing, don’t [you] think I would have? C’mon man!! If I knew he was going to run that lane, I would have went higher. I can’t predict everything all the time,” Busch stated.

Corey LaJoie came to defend Busch, saying track awareness would’ve prevented the incident. He agreed with LaJoie before giving his perspective on what happened on track.

“Absolutely!! Agreed! On track awareness is the point,” Busch said. “Some lapped cars are always a moving target. I was told the 52 was running high, so I went middle cause I couldn’t follow the 24 when he went low cause [you] can’t follow anyone in these cars!”

Despite a tough start to his 2019 playoff run, Kyle Busch went on to win his second NASCAR Cup Series title, beating Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin at the Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.