Former HMS Team Member Recalls Being Reprimanded for ‘Egging On’ Hot-Headed Kyle Busch in 2006

Kyle Busch, in his early racing days, was an animated race car driver. He was immensely talented, but a hot-headed character. The fans didn’t make it easy for him to settle in his seat, and he was always greeted with boos and jeers whenever he took to the racetrack, partly because he was Kurt Busch’s brother, who didn’t have a good reputation among the fans either.

Crew chiefs and spotters do play a role in keeping the driver away from the drama and chaos. However, Jeff Dickerson‘s time at Hendrick Motorsports only added fuel to the fire, spotting for ‘Rowdy’. The duo was making a name for themselves in the NASCAR garage, but things were getting out of control during the 2006 season. HMS veteran, Ken Howes had to intervene to curb the issue and give Dickerson instructions to keep Busch out of trouble.

Jeff Dickerson got himself in trouble while spotting for Busch

Kyle Busch is not a stranger to venting out his frustrations or hard feelings against his fellow NASCAR drivers. Fans or viewers who have just started to watch the sport recently might know how easy it was to wind up Busch during the race. Dickerson, who created a special bond working as his spotter at Hendrick Motorsports, sure knows a thing or two about his aggression.

He could have helped him tone down his aggression while racing, but instead, he only added fuel to the fire. Recalling his early memories with Kyle Busch while speaking on the Dirty Mo Media podcast, he revealed, “I remember with Ken Howes when I was spotting for Kyle. It’s not like 2024, Kyle; I mean like I had 2006, Kyle, it was crazy… I remember just being like we’re at Vegas or someplace and he was coming apart and I was egging him on, you know what I mean. I was like, man you’re the man Kyle. Yeah, you’re right. This is stupid, like what the sh*t?”

Soon he received a call from Howes for a meeting and was advised not to make matters worse by endorsing Rowdy’s behavior on the radio. “Sunday morning you know you get a call from Ken, come on in. So I walked in and he was just like, Hm, you know who you’re spotting for? I’m like, yes sir. He’s just like, you know, he can be a little hot? He’s just like perhaps we don’t put fire on that flame. It was kinda that thing where it’s just like you don’t have to exacerbate a situation.”

However, since then, Dickerson has achieved great feats, making him one of the most prominent personalities in American motorsports. He also co-owns and operates the NASCAR team Spire Motorsports, which means he is also actively a part of the new charter agreement deal.

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Dickerson reveals that teams are unified despite NASCAR’s antics

There have been reports that the Cup Series teams are demanding additional media rights revenue, permanent charters, revenue from new streams such as gambling, and power sharing to ink the new deal. However, NASCAR has stayed firm on its offer of an extension of just seven more years under the new TV deal. It was also reported that NASCAR is trying to single out the teams and divide the team alliance to get the deal through. But according to Dickerson, that was just a bluff, a tactic to get the team in line with their proposed offer.

Dickerson confirmed the teams’ united stand against the governing council and added, “The teams are unified on four points. That is a 100 percent, these are the four points for 16 chartered teams. It’s the tactics, I think, where everybody’s not unified. It’s a policy about getting there. We talked about regular sports leagues, and hey, this is how they do it here, that’s right, that’s how it should be…As much as we want to be like other sports leagues, it’s not; it’s family-owned owned and that’s how it is.”

Spire Motorsports has also been in the news about a potential merger with Stewart-Haas Racing, who are rumored to be selling multiple charters ahead of 2025. So keep an eye out for that one as well, as it could allow Spire to field all four entries from next season onwards.