"I wasn't really cussing at her": Kurt Busch explains his misunderstood TV moment with Jamie Little

NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch recently addressed the infamous hot‑mic incident involving pit reporter Jamie Little. The former Cup Series driver said that it was a misunderstood moment amid pre‑race chaos.

In 2011, when Busch’s car failed a pre-race inspection and delayed his return to the grid, the then-Penske driver snapped at ESPN reporter Jamie Little. As he was rushing toward his pit stall ahead of the national anthem, Little approached Busch for a question at New Hampshire Speedway and he replied:

"Why the f*** do you think I would be OK? I gotta go get in my car. NASCAR told me I gotta get in my car."

During a recent appearance on the Spake Up podcast with host Shannon Spake, Busch clarified his intent and shared what he would have done differently.

"I wasn't really cussing at Jamie. I was just trying to find my fu***ing car... But it again at the end of the day if I could do one thing over. ... maybe it would have been to go out to dinner with different media members and to go have a beer and chill," Kurt Busch said (01:28 onwards).

However, Busch has been part of other such incidents and battled anger issues throughout his decades-long career. He had to be physically restrained after confronting a NASCAR.com reporter in September of 2011 at Richmond. He also made threats to Bob Pockrass following a Nationwide (Xfinity) Series race in 2012, which led to a $50,000 fine and suspension by NASCAR.

"It's all good fun though" - Kurt Busch on tensions with reporters

NASCAR suspended Kurt Busch after he threatened Bob Pockrass at Dover. Asked if his May 12 probation from a Darlington incident with Ryan Newman affected his handling of a racing incident with Justin Allgaier, Busch snapped and said:

"It refrains me from not beating the s*** out of you."

During the podcast episode with Shannon Spake, Busch also reflected on his run‑in with Pockrass and reporting pressure.

"Two months later when he was asking me something about Justin Allgaier at Dover. I'm like, 'Bob, if I wasn't on probation right now I just kick your a**.' But it was kind of like a friendship moment," Kurt Busch said.

He argued that those instances were a tiny part of his long career.

"It's all good fun though. ... there's so many race wins that I have 770 starts. Like those are those 1% moments of 23 years as a professional in this sport," he added.

The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion won 34 races over 776 starts in the series and retired in the early 2020s after a serious concussion during a race at Pocono.