John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were placed on probation for six races after this bump last Saturday at Bristol.

A true rivalry usually arises between people or teams who don’t like each other. Both Busch and Edwards shrugged off any talk about dislike off the track, even after some negative comments by each after the Bristol race.

“We’re friends, man,” Busch said Friday. “I even joke around with guys with myself that Carl is ’bff Carl.’ We’re best friends. I don’t believe it’s a rivalry. I believe that we can still be friends and stuff like that and have that relationship on the racetrack.”

A little later, the 29-year-old Edwards echoed his young competitor.

“When he’s won this year, I’ve congratulated him,” he said. “When I’ve won, he’s congratulated me, and that’s why all this stuff this week, I kind of just got a chuckle out of it because I know deep down that what he says doesn’t matter to me and what I say doesn’t really matter to him. What really matters is we race well on the racetrack, so I’d say that we’ll be fine.”

Both were asked what effect being on probation might have on them over the next six weeks.

“I don’t think it means that if you get into another driver and spin him out then you’re going to get suspended for a race,” Busch said, shrugging. “I think it has to do with the way that you got put on probation, which is if you do the same thing that you did again, then the repercussions for it are going to go up and that would probably be a suspension or something like that. (It means) keep your post race antics down to a minimum.”

Edwards said he doesn’t worry about being on probation.

“I just have to be a little extra careful not to let my emotions get the best of me,” he said. “It will be good practice, I think.”

Neither of the drivers believe they really did anything wrong at Bristol

“No, I don’t regret anything,” Edwards said. “I did what I felt was best at the time, and that’s fine. In the grand scheme of things, looking back on it, I don’t even think there was really anything that was that bad about last week. I thought it was just real good hard racing and what happened afterward is stuff that happens at every short track all around the country every week.

“The only bad part about it is just tearing up race cars when you don’t need to.”

Busch said things could certainly have escalated into a much worse situation.

“I could’ve very easily drove off into turn three and doored him right in the left-side quarter panel or something and spun him out,” Busch said. “I didn’t do that. I tried to race him clean. I tried to get back by him and I got bogged down a little bit by Denny (Hamlin), who got along side of me, and we raced for a little bit.

“I never laid a tire mark on (Hamlin) and got back by him and was just too late to try to run down Carl. I would’ve certainly liked to have tried to not touch him. ... I’m not out there to try to move anybody.”