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Brad Keselowski blasts Kyle Busch's petulant behavior, media coverage

Brad Keselowski said he was irked both by Kyle Busch\u2019s behavior when he dropped a microphone and exited a post-race interview as well as the subsequent media coverage he believes excused it.

Brad Keselowski, shown here at Auto Club Speedway in March, took a swipe at rival Kyle Busch Saturday at Dover International Speedway.

DOVER, Del. — Kyle Busch wants to win badly, gets frustrated. Brad Keselowski can go with him on that.

Busch said that his demeanor isn’t going to change at age 32, suggesting that reprises of the petulant post-race behavior he displayed following a second-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 are entirely possible. Keselowski can’t accept that.

Granted, Busch and Keselowski have clashed on-track in the past and are rivals, so there is the sense that the former series champions share a narrow band for compromise on numerous topics. This one is beyond that band, as Keselowski expanded on critical Twitter comments of Busch after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver dropped his microphone and exited a post-race interview after being questioned last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Keselowski said he was irked both by Busch’s behavior and subsequent media coverage he believes excused it. Both drivers, interestingly, invoked their children in explaining their reasoning, Busch in noting that he sees his temperament in his young child, Keselowski in the example set in such behavior by adults.

“That’s one way of expressing it, but it’s not the only way to win,” Keselowski said on Saturday at Dover International Speedway. “So when people go out and write articles or the media comes out and says that’s a reflection of him having the most desire to win, makes me want to throw up. Not only is that a terrible message to send to anyone who’s aspiring [to be] a part of the sport, it’s a terrible message to send to anybody in general in this world, that it’s a reflection over your desire to win.

“When I look at teams and people in this sport, they all want to be associated with those who have the strongest hunger and desires and passions to be successful. That’s natural. That includes myself. That message to convey, whether it’s through the media or through different mouthpieces is a terrible message that has serious effects, not only on our sport but on our society and I don’t think that’s acceptable. Your desire to win can be expressed in a lot of other ways that are productive.”

Follow James on Twitter @brantjjames

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