Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Fight: A No-Win Situation For Rowdy

As we wait for the parties involved to offer their first comments on the fight between Kyle Busch and Richard Childress – or Childress’ assault on Busch, depending on how you look at it – the entire incident seems to be a lose-lose situation for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

If the details we’ve heard so far are indeed accurate – and we haven’t heard anything to indicate they aren’t – the Busch/Joey Coulter incident at the end of the Kansas Truck Series race was the last straw for Childress.

The six-time champion team owner, tired of Busch damaging his vehicles, apparently knew exactly what he wanted to do – and it wasn’t to have a conversation with the driver they call “Rowdy.” He allegedly removed his watch prior to approaching Busch, which meant he anticipated a physical confrontation.

At that point, Busch was allegedly assaulted. He was put into a headlock, punched several times and was soon curled up on the ground. When he attempted to get up, Childress reportedly took another swing.

Here’s the thing: From the moment Childress approached, there was no possible positive outcome for Busch.

Since Busch didn’t fight back, he’s now viewed as a guy who got his ass kicked by a 65-year-old grandpa. Childress gets portrayed as a hero in the eyes of many fans, who took to social media channels to express their joy that Busch was beaten.

The other option for Busch was to fight back, which would have been even worse. Can you imagine the headlines if he’d punched a retirement-aged NASCAR legend in the face? He might have lost sponsorship, points and perhaps his job.

Childress’ decision to fight meant Busch’s best option was to simply take his whooping. It was better than being the driver who gave an old man a broken nose.

It will be interesting to see how Busch reacts to this. If he comments about it, what will he say? Would he dare to press criminal charges? Will he brush it off and let NASCAR handle it?

The aftermath of Saturday’s throwdown should be very revealing. We’ll keep you posted on any new developments.