The biggest story in NASCAR this week began with a sarcastic tweet from Kyle Larson.



Kyle Busch had just won his seventh consecutive NASCAR Gander Truck Series race over the span of three years and his fellow Cup Series competitor likened it to cherry-picking his statistics from a lesser division.

Larson's tweet didn’t sit well with Kevin Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champion who had once invested millions to build a team that also competed in the Truck Series. Of all people, Harvick knew just how much it had taken to get Kyle Busch Motorsports to the level of racing for wins and championships.

After all, it’s not like Busch was driving for someone else, or an owner who also fielded entries in the Cup and Xfinity divisions.

Busch makes it look easy, but the process was far from it.

"I’ve been in Kyle Busch’s position, trying to run a race team in the Truck Series and having to find sponsorship and keep the trucks competitive," Harvick told The Athletic this week. "I hear a lot of people talk about that and that kind of rubbed me wrong in a lot of different ways and has through the years.

"And Kyle Larson’s tweet kind of set me off and it just kind of evolved into what it was. And it’s really about 'If you don’t like it, get off the couch and go beat the guy.'

"It’s not something that’s easy to do. And even if you don’t go get in your own truck, let’s see you go out there and be competitive instead of complaining, and go out there and race against the guy. Nobody complains about you when you’re racing your champ kart on dirt against kids in a go-kart race. That’s really what set the whole thing off."

So Harvick sent out the now famous tweet that offered $50,000 to any Cup Series driver who beats the two-time and reigning Cup Series champion head-to-head over his next four appearances in the third-tier NASCAR tour.

That number was immediately matched by Gander Outdoors proprietor and Truck Series sponsor Marcus Lemonis — essentially making it a $100,000 bounty for a Cup Series regular to defeat Kyle Busch.



If no one wins the bounty, the money will go to the charity that Busch started with his wife, Samantha, to help couples pay for infertility treatments.

Larson and Chase Elliott have entered races at Atlanta, Homestead and Kansas in the hopes of breaking the Busch streak that dates back to 2017.

When asked about how everything has unfolded over the last seven days, Larson said his original tweet was just a joke and that he meant no disrespect to Busch.

"I actually like it a lot, because I feel like it helps expose the guys that are good and the ones who aren’t," Larson said on Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. "I think when he does win and he has to battle for the wins, I think it shows which kids are really good. So, I just dropped some cherries on there because when I win dirt races, I get a lot of that as well.

"It was more of a dig at the NASCAR fans and dirt fans who give me crap also."

Larson hopes that his participation, as well as Elliott's, will bring awareness to the full-time regulars as opposed to displacing their spotlight.

Lemonis has repeatedly tried to up the ante over the past several days, offering a $250,000 purse if NASCAR puts the four remaining Busch starts on over-the-air television as opposed to FS1.



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If you @NASCARONFOX want to move this to @NASCARONFOX prime time then I’ll put up a much bigger purse for top 5 finishers and we will pack the stands. @NASCAR @GanderRV .. RT to help me make this happen $250k a big enough prime time purse ?? @KyleBusch @KevinHarvick @stevephelps https://t.co/BIa3QrG70u — Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) February 23, 2020

The races are at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14, Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 20, Texas Motor Speedway on March 27, and Kansas Speedway on May 30.

A NASCAR rule limits Cup Series regulars to five starts in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. It is often referred to as the "Kyle Busch Rule."

In addition to his 56 Cup victories, Busch also has 96 in the Xfinity Series and 57 in the Truck Series. He has pledged to retire from Xfinity Series competition upon reaching 100 wins but will continue to race in Trucks for as long as he owns his team.

Busch has threatened to close Kyle Busch Motorsports if NASCAR prevents him from racing his own equipment on that tour.



The bounty has drawn the interest of other Cup Series regulars. Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 winner, wants to enter but likely needs Richard Childress Racing to build a chassis in-house, since there are no other contending Chevrolet teams beyond GMS Racing.

GMS Racing is fielding the trucks for Elliott and Larson.



Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin wants to enter as well, but the Toyota driver would have to get a chassis from Kyle Busch Motorsports, which is not inclined to supply one.

Busch has taken the challenge in good stride and believes the bounty will raise awareness for the entire series. He also believes Larson at Homestead represents the best chance for a driver to collect the money.

"I think it’s a unique opportunity for more attention on the series, which is good," Busch said. "Maybe if more drivers had more teams than had rides, then there would be something else there than just myself. I don’t remember who I told, but once Harvick kind of put the idea out there, I thought the guy that really has a shot is Larson at Homestead. Bring it on."

Some stars, such as Ricky Stenhouse Jr., felt it wasn’t fair that a Truck Series regular couldn’t collect the bounty in their own series. In response, Halmar Friesen Racing principal Chris Larsen put up $50,000 if a series regular could accomplish the feat over the next four Busch starts.

While 2018 Cup Series champion Joey Logano isn’t actively interested in chasing the bounty, instead hoping to beat Busch at the highest level, he recognizes this entire development as a huge positive in generating interest in Trucks.

"I love the idea that Kevin threw out there to do this," Logano said. "It gets everyone talking about the Truck Series and what that is about and you get the best of the best out there with them and it will be fun to watch. It draws so much attention to it, right? You would never ask me a question about a Truck race if that didn’t happen.

"Kudos to Kevin for doing that, and doing it for charity is even better. If the opportunity was there, I would probably take a look at it, but I haven’t been searching at this point."

And to think, all of this began with a misunderstood Tweet from Larson.

"I messaged Harvick after I read that article just to explain what I was thinking when I wrote that Tweet," Larson said. "He understood now. Yeah, but I was like, 'I’m glad it did upset you enough to put the bounty up because it’s a good opportunity for us Cup guys.'

"I wish that it would roll over to a Truck Series regular if they were to beat Kyle, because it should be for the whole field. When you’ve heard of bounties at your local Late Model race or whatever, it’s for the whole field; not just for one guy that might be in the field that night."

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