Dale Earnhardt Sr. vs. Jeff Gordon; Richard Petty vs. David Pearson; and Jimmie Johnson vs. Kevin Harvick are all some of the most remarkable rivalries that the raceways of America have seen. Falling in this line from a more recent generation of drivers are Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Over the last decade, both of these drivers, who are now in their late 30s, have won their share of championships and accolades. But that did not come without fighting tooth and nail behind the wheel.

Taking us back to the years at the onset of their dislike for each other, NASCAR on NBC shared an interesting incident that occurred between the two drivers back in 2013 at the Sunflower State in Kansas.

When Brad Keselowski took his wrath to Kyle Busch’s pit box

On October 5, 2013, the 29th stock car race of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series was held at the Kansas Speedway. It might have been Matt Kenseth who took home the win at the end of the day, but it was Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski who set the track on fire with their hatred for each other.

As the two were racing to finish at the second spot, Kyle wrecked Brad with only 13 laps to go. Hit from behind by Kyle’s No. 54 Camry, Brad’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford spun and was unable to complete the race, while Kyle’s car proceeded to cruise ahead to the checkered flag. “Really?!” Keselowski was heard saying this on his radio as his car began to spin.

Getting out of the vehicle that was unable to restart, Brad ran toward Kyle’s pit with his fingers pointed at them. As officials intervened on his radio, he changed course and headed to the infield care center. Speaking in the aftermath of the race, the two drivers exchanged punches in front of the media.

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As reported by Jeff Gluck for USA TODAY Sports, Brad said in a post-race interview, “I got wrecked by a dirty driver. There’s no other way of putting it.” But Kyle Busch did not go back down without throwing a few punches of his own.

Kyle Busch explains his move on Brad Keselowski

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Responding to Brad’s words, Kyle said, “Brad Keselowski knows what dirty drivers are because he’s done it plenty of times. I have yet to wreck a person on purpose.”

Despite claiming that the wreck wasn’t intentional, he refused to call it an “accident” and made a case for himself, saying that he had gotten tight behind Brad. As Brad vowed to return the favor at the Cup Series race that followed at the track, Kyle said, “That goes to show you the kind of person Brad Keselowski is and the class he doesn’t have.”

Equating his actions with what Brad had done to him the previous year, Kyle pulled cards from the 2012 Watkins Glen race in which Brad had wrecked him. But he denied that his actions in Kansas were an act of vengeance. He said, “I’m not out there to take vengeance in a Nationwide Series championship. I’ve got bigger fish to fry on Sundays than on Saturdays.”

Asked if this would spill over into the Cup Series race, Brad affirmed that it would. He said, “We were good. We’ve had a solid year of racing each other and now we’ve got war. He started it and he can have fun with the results.”

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Though Brad had promised to retaliate, he ended up not doing so. Both drivers finished the weekend at Kansas without further clashes. But the rivalry had not quite died down. Over the days that followed, the drivers went on to express their dislike for each other through their actions, both on and off the track.

As the Xfinity race at the Kansas Speedway ended in October 2013, Kyle finished P4. Coming back to 2023, the drivers now find themselves competing in the NASCAR playoffs aiming for their next championship.