How many instances must we recount?

That’s how it goes at Bristol.

Carl Edwards’ move in Busch’s 21st race there was neither vicious nor reckless; it was a simple tap that executed its intended function. It got Busch loose without wrecking him. It bought Edwards enough room to sneak by on the low side and take the lead.

Judging by Busch’s reaction, you’d have thought Edwards bump-drafted the leader going into the final turn at Daytona.

We’ve all seen the replays of Busch’s post-race bump and Edwards’ subsequent retaliation. (In case you haven’t, they’re here.) And if you saw that much, you saw Busch’s who-me interview a few minutes later (also included on that clip), when he casually referred to Edwards as Mr. Ed.

Look, we all know the reason Busch was pissed. It wasn’t because the bump was ill-advised. It’s because Edwards had the audacity to punt The Great Kyle Busch.

And Edwards was dead on when he wondered if Busch (TGKB for short?) would do the same to him. Edwards didn’t have to think hard; TGKB — for all his winning this season — has burned more than a few competitors along the way.

Is he still immature? Sure, but that’s not anything different than what his old Hendrick teammates have been saying for the past month. The simple fact that the normally reserved Hendrick drivers, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, spoke out publicly speaks volumes in and of itself. You can count on two hands the number of times you’ve heard Johnson slam someone or something.

Perhaps a component of that immaturity is this: Bump a guy out of the way to take the lead? Darn right he’s going to do it. Get bumped out of the way to lose the lead? How dare he. It’s the standard Don’t Do As I Do mindset.

Perhaps that’s his M.O., period.

Winning and kicking everyone’s tail, as TGKB has done for much of the season, tends to mask such ugliness. It’s one thing to play the villain, as he’s done by counting the wins on his fingers in his post-race celebrations. There was a good-natured feel to it, a reason to give fans a chance to boo.

But clearly, a line was crossed on Saturday night. NASCAR had an easy call to make by hauling TGKB to the hauler.

Immaturity? Probably.

Or maybe it’s something larger. The downfall of many a great athlete began when he started believing the hype.

(Photo by Wade Payne/Associated Press)