Kyle Petty blames Kyle Busch for incident with Christopher Bell: ‘Drove like he was the only car on the racetrack’

Kyle Petty used his Hot Take segment this week to speak on Christopher Bell’s incidents at COTA, as he tangled with Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson.

While Bell came home with a runner-up finish, he spun both Larson and Busch on the afternoon. He was apologetic to Larson, but he doesn’t believe he was in the wrong when it comes to Busch, and that spawned an altercation on pit road between the former teammates.

Afterwards, Petty spoke on why he believes Bell was actually in the right during his conflict with Busch, and why the veteran driver doesn’t exactly have a leg to stand on.

“Okay, CODA yesterday. What we saw was Christopher Bell hit everybody at the racetrack named Kyle, except for me. Yes, I was there yesterday watching all the action,” Petty said. “I look at the first incident. He gets into Kyle Larson. That’s straight up Christopher Bell. When you hit somebody dead square from behind on the racetrack, it’s just like on the highway. You get the ticket ticket. Ticket for Christopher Bell. He owned up to it. I’ve got to admit. He manned up. He said, ‘That’s all me. I hate that happened.’ The second incident with Kyle Busch is a little bit more. There’s a little bit of something there. Kyle Busch drove that corner, like he was the only car on the racetrack. Christopher Bell filled the hole to the inside. Kyle cuts back across. Christopher is there. That’s what you learn to do, every racetrack you’ve ever raced on. Fill the hole. Christopher Bell filled the hole. Kyle Busch comes back across.

“Now, what I enjoyed was the after the race confrontation. When Kyle Busch comes up, trying to teach Christopher Bell how to count 1-2-3. He’s holding up his fingers. He says, ‘I owe you one.’ Although he’s holding up three fingers, ‘I owe you one,’ and at the same time he says, ‘Have I ever wrecked you?’ And Christopher Bell says, ‘No.’ So there we have it. For the record, Christopher Bell is the only guy Kyle Busch has never wrecked on a race track. And I found that hilarious.”

Evidently, Petty believes Bell isn’t at fault, and Busch was being hypocritical after the race, while he confronted Bell. Throughout his career, the two-time Cup Series champion has had his fair share of conflicts, so Petty seemingly believes Busch should be more self aware in this situation.

Regardless, that doesn’t eliminate the fact that Kyle Busch could retaliate in the coming weeks. At least Christopher Bell is already locked into the playoffs, as Busch looks to end a growing winless streak that’s been gnawing at him since the middle of 2023.