Busch, Earnhardt: Rivalry is byproduct of media

They aren't quite the Hatfields and McCoys, but Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. aren't exactly fishing buddies, either.

Their relationship is more akin to that of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. They simply tolerate one another, mostly from a distance unless their lines cross on the racetrack.

Last year, they managed to get together at both the spring and fall Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway. The two aren't exactly feuding, but they have provided NASCAR fans with some semblance of a rivalry.

Earnhardt and Busch square off again tonight at RIR during the Crown Royal Presents Russ Friedman 400.

Earnhardt, would rather put last year's finish behind him. He seemingly had within reach his first victory in two years before Busch clipped him late in the race, paving the way for Clint Bowyer to claim the checkered flag.

"We were racing for the lead, but the same thing happened to me in practice [yesterday] and there was no trophy on the line," Earnhardt said. "A lot of people wreck here in practice."

Earnhardt and Busch figure last year's encounters are only relevant to NASCAR in terms of selling tickets and boosting television ratings.

"It's pretty relevant to what happened last year and what they have to do to sell tickets," Earnhardt said. "It's perfectly fine with me. I'm OK with it.

"I think [Busch] is probably over it, and so am I. At least, I hope he's over it. We'll find out I guess."

If nothing else, Earnhardt and Busch agree that their feud is a media creation.

"I think the media plays it up as they want to, and if it's good for the sport it doesn't matter to me," Busch said. "If it sells tickets, that's all that matters to get people in the stands."

Earnhardt is convinced that Busch isn't out to get him. Instead, he said Busch has a chip on his shoulder about any Hendrick Motorsports driver.

"He doesn't like a Hendrick race car, and everyone knows what he says every time he gets around us," Earnhardt said. "He just doesn't have a good perception of any one of us. I think it's pretty obvious he doesn't like us.

"Kyle's a hard racer. I think the older he gets, the more I like him."

Earnhardt gained a measure of redemption by putting Busch into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 213 before cruising to a fourth-place finish behind winner Jimmie Johnson.

Busch is generally considered the villain by most fans, in part, because of Earnhardt's popularity.

"If you're a driver and run over Dale Jr., you're going to have a bad day no matter what track you're at," David Reutimann said. "If you touch him, you're going to be the bad guy.

"Lot of guys out there care less if they're friends with anybody on the racetrack. Kyle's situation is isolated. I haven't had any problems with him. I'm the same with everybody [and] can't say anything about him."

Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt's teammate, agreed.

"It was a tight battle with the most popular guy out there," Gordon said. "At that time, it was a young guy winning a lot of races without a lot of popularity, and all did he did was make himself less popular with Junior fans, and more popular with non-Junior fans.

"That type of excitement is good for sports. I'm a competitor, so I put myself in both of those shoes."