Kyle Busch blasts fellow drivers for losing ‘sense of respect’: “There was an etiquette that once did live here”

Veteran driver Kyle Busch feels the current generation of drivers has lost respect for each other. The 37-year-old feels that the NASCAR garage area doesn't feel the same as it used to.

Busch was questioned about the incident between Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain, where the former bumped into the latter intentionally. Speaking about the incident, he added that the drivers no longer respected the etiquette that the previous generation of drivers drove with.

He said:

"We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage area between drivers."

"That’s where the problem lies, Nobody gives two shits about anybody else. It’s just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can. We’re all selfish, granted, but there was an etiquette that once did live here."

Busch, who has spent two decades racing in NASCAR's premier series, is one of the few drivers to have gone wheel-to-wheel against both the legends of the sport and the younger generation. He cited many drivers of the past who raced fairly against their fiercest competition.

The #8 driver added:

"Mark [Martin] started it. I think Tony [Stewart] really lived by it. Jeff [Gordon] lived by it. Bobby Labonte. Rusty [Wallace] for the most part. Dale Jarrett for sure. So, it did exist. That’s gone."

Busch also revealed that Tony Stewart first explained to him the racing etiquette on two occasions. He has already tried mentoring the drivers about racing etiquette, but he has lost interest as the younger drivers are stubborn to change.

The two-time Cup Series champion has tried to preach the younger talent driving for his team Kyle Busch Motorsports. Some listened to his advice while some didn't. He continued:

"I’ve tried to talk to guys. They don’t listen, so I’ve lost interest in talking to them. I had a teammate that I talked to, a kid that raced for me two years in the Truck Series real recently who I got into it last week with and tried to talk to him about those exact same issues. Lo and behold, it happened to me three races into a new year somewhere else, so I’m done taking to them."

While the incident between Hamlin and Chastain has left a sour mood in the NASCAR garage, Busch feels following the racing etiquette will solve such issues.

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Kyle Busch has a slow start to the Atlanta weekend

After passing the technical inspection on his third try, Kyle Busch had an unimpressive qualifying session. The #8 Chevrolet driver qualified 17th when the Ford drivers dominated the session, sweeping the top eight positions.

Joey Logano grabbed his 28th career pole leading the Team Penske trio to a 1-2-3 qualifying sweep.

Busch is also short-handed after losing his crew chief for failing the inspection on the second time. However, the team avoided a penalty on Sunday after passing the inspection in its third asking.

The 37-year-old will have to execute a flawless race to score some big points.