I know Mears isn't a Hendrick driver but he is a very good friend of Vickers and Johnson and it got you to look didn't it?

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 29) - Kyle Busch would like to apologize to Casey Mears, but his NASCAR Nextel Cup competitor hasn't returned his phone calls.

The 20-year-old Busch said he has yet to talk with Mears since their on-track run-in last week in Phoenix.

"I've tried to talk to Casey," Busch said. "I left a message with Brian Vickers, who is a very close friend of his and mine, to give him my phone number and I haven't heard back from him."

Mears didn't sound very forgiving this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

"I know that he'd call and apologize because a lot of people told him he should call and apologize, not because he really wants to," Mears said. "I'm glad he didn't (call), because I wouldn't have taken it as a true apology anyway."

Their cars collided while racing for position on the one-mile oval, with Busch coming away with a flat left rear tire that sent him spinning into the wall in turn one.

As that was happening, a separate and unrelated big accident erupted behind them, bringing out a red flag. An angry Busch kept his car going and caught the rest of the field in turn four, ramming into the stopped car of Mears in retaliation.

That cost Busch a five-lap penalty and a post-race dressing down from NASCAR president Mike Helton, who reportedly had not been as angry with a driver since Busch's older brother, Kurt, cursed on his radio and threw a water bottle at a NASCAR official last spring at Darlington.

"I let my emotions get the best of me and it was the wrong thing to do," Busch said. "I owe Casey and (team owner) Chip Ganassi an apology for all that, and NASCAR too for not respecting the red flag and the safety of all the other competitors out there."

Asked if he could work with Busch in the draft in Sunday's Aaron's 499, Mears said, "I don't care enough about him to make a comment. I really don't care.

"The guy is really fast and he's got a lot of talent on the track but he really does a lot of stupid stuff. It's across the board, the feeling throughout the garage," Mears added. "When he grows up, he's going to be a real good race car driver. ... Right now, he's the guy who makes a lot of bad mistakes."