Busch, More and Less

There are a lot of things about Kyle Busch that are “less”. He’s reckless, relentless, and a prick. OK, the last one isn’t a “less”, but I could use less of it. However, there was something totally different I saw in Kyle Busch this weekend, he was careless.

First be clear of the difference. While I’m all on board with the fact that what happened with him and Jr. at Richmond was a “racing deal”, it was also based out of Busch being over aggressive and really not caring about his fellow competitors. There’s no need for us all to go down that road, but we’ve seen a lot of similar instances where he over drives the car and as a result someone else is severely put at a disadvantage. (e.g. Johnny Benson) That’s him though, that’s how he drives. I don’t have to agree with it, but it’s exactly what we’re going to get every week.

What happened with Shrubbie this weekend was totally different in my mind. I didn’t get to see enough of the Truck and Nationwide series races to truly break them down, but I did see every lap of the pre happy hour practice and the entire race Sunday. In both he had major incidents that crippled his cars and both were very unlike Busch. Neither saw him over drive the car, neither saw him make a move that put him in jeopardy, what it seemed like to me was that for a split second he had a lack of focus and in that split second he paid a price.

I’m not 100% convinced that all the travel and additional racing played the only role in his mental breakdowns, but it has to be in the debate. I know that he’s flying top notch private jets, has travel arrangements that rival rock stars, and most of all is young…but he’s not partying all night and getting up to work a desk job. Driving these cars/trucks in these hot conditions take a toll on the body and mind.

The truth of the matter is that the Sprint Cup has to be his number 1 priority. And he is putting together the kind of year that people dream of. He’s the favorite to take the championship at this point and 9 times out of 10 is a factor in the finish of a race. I know everyone is out here preaching that Kyle Busch is the greatest thing since Joey Lagano, but we’ve seen people put together great years and fall back into mediocrity. Do I expect that to happen? No. However, when you have this kind of shot at the biggest honor in your sport, you have to take it and take it seriously. Yes, he may help in getting the owners point championship in the trucks and yes, he may be a factor in the Nationwide cars. However, if he accomplished both, but doesn’t get the Cup do you think it will be worth it?

Maybe he just had an off week. The thing is, he didn’t run out of talent, he didn’t get bad equipment, and no one else forced his errors. He wadded up 2 perfectly good cars in 2 very lackadaisical situations. If I’m Joe Gibbs I wouldn’t put the handcuffs on him yet. However, I would pay attention over the coming weeks and if similar situations start to occur then I would have to look at stepping in.

SMI buying Kentucky Motor Speedway?

Alright, I’ll admit that living in Kentucky and being under 2 hours to the track has me fairly excited about the possibility of SMI flip flopping some things and getting Kentucky Speedway a shiny new Cup date. I’m sure everyone outside of the immediate impact zone is frothing at the mouth over which potential track could be losing a date. I’m more focused on how this is going to affect teams testing.
It seems every week there is at least 1 Cup team at the track testing something. While it isn’t 10 minutes down the road from Charlotte, it is close enough to squeeze in during the week and since it mirrors so many of the other tracks on the schedule already the teams get some pretty useful data.
I’ve always heard that the teams have never wanted Kentucky to receive a date because they value that testing ground so much, but now it seems as though plans are in the works to break some hearts in the garage.

Can't get over The Hump

The rumors are swirling through ESPN and several other sites that Humpy Wheeler is set to retire from his position with Lowe’s Motor Speedway. I guess that shouldn’t come as a total shock because he is 70 years old and has been doing this for 33 years. The thing is that for 33 years he’s been doing it better than anyone else. Take a minute and think about it. How many “promoters” come to your mind? There are some, but none that do it like Humpy.

The apparent torch bearer in the NASCAR realm is most likely Eddie Gossage. The problem with that is that his antics aren’t lovable and are anything but traditional. While Humpy is jumping on soap boxes and playing a carnival barker, Gossage is more like a salesman from a kiosk in the mall that won’t stop until you’re well out of range. While Humpy is blowing up buses and bringing out car devouring metal monsters, Gossage is putting bounties on helmet throwing and throwing up disparaging billboards.

It’s a totally different era now. Maybe Eddie has it right for today’s world of blogging and up to the minute television updates, but there was something “just right” about Humpy and the way he approached business. It was that throwback track promoter touch that made him so likeable to me, a link to the past that the younger generation of the France family has seemed to care so little about.

NASCAR has grown tremendously and for that I’m ever grateful. There are new fans, new opportunities, and entirely new ways to enjoy the sport we all love. In order to move forward we’ve had to shed some of the tradition and I’ve come to accept it. The crops of driver’s who had to work all week on their cars in order to have them ready for the weekend are thinning to near nothing. Every kid with an ounce of talent is signed to a development deal in the womb and given equipment that is worth more than some teams made in the 80’s. The times are changing and if I’m going to lose my links to the past I at least want them to exit with respect. If not for the Humpy Wheelers of the sport then I have no doubt that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this sport the way I get to on a daily basis.

Have fun in retirement Humpy, you’ve earned it.

Strange practice speeds

It’s a good day when you check online for practice speeds and your driver is well into the top 3 on the track. It’s gives you a little extra sense of hope, but once that wore off I noticed something weird. The speed differential between 1,2, and 3 in practice is minimal at .059 mph. While you want any advantage you can get, that doesn’t appear to be an unheard of difference. My concern is the difference between 3 and 4 is 1.371 mph and that is a HUGE jump between 3rd and 4th place. This isn’t even taking into account that 4th place is Kyle Busch and you know with 100% certainty that he’s getting every drop of speed out of that car it will give. It’s even worse when you take a look at Matt Kenseth you posted 45th in practice and was 7.238 mph slower than the #1 spot of The Dinger.

I’m just now getting a chance to look at all this, but it seems like A LOT of cars are lost right now and I’m not sure what that’s going to mean for Saturday night. That’s a ton of speed for a team to try and find in qualifying and 1 more practice.

Maybe I’m reading to much into it.

Electric Grandstands

In order to move on with my thoughts and my life I guess I need to address the turn 3 fracas with Kyle Busch and Dale Jr. As a fan I was violently angry and shared in a profanity laced tirade from the back stretch. However, trying remove my biases I've still got my issues.

My first being that Kyle Busch keeps getting a pass for "racing deals". Things happen, but there has to be some responsibility or culpability in everything. Kyle Busch is consistently reckless with his car and his attitude. If that exact scenario plays out with Jeff Burton or Mark Martin then it would be easy to write off as a major disappointment, but Shrub seems to do it over and over. If there was a teenager who constantly sped through your neighborhood and eventually ran down a kid who ran out in the street to get his ball...would that be a "driving deal"? I know, it's a little extreme of a jump but time and time again this kid's actions are written off. The announcers are always baffled at how Kyle Busch can run with the car sideways, but I'm under the impression if he could figure out how to drive with the car straight he might finish more races. Is he talented? You better believe it. He can wheel anything with 4 wheels under it. I'm just not ready to sign over the world to him because of his quick start.

I've heard several defenses with the biggest seeming to be a reference to Earnhardt Sr. and Texas Terry. Really? This kid racks up some wins and we feel we need to compare him to a legend? Let's forget the fact that once you've added up multiple championships that you get a bit more leeway in on track incidents. Instead let's focus on the biggest difference, when Dale Sr emerged from the #3 Chevy he made a point to apologize. Terry didn't seem to care what he said, but he still said it. Maybe he didn't mean it, maybe he did, but regardless he showed remorse. Kyle Busch is a cocky prick who feels there's no need to accept any responsiblity. We're just taking up space in his world and we need to get out of the way.

So with all that said...I'm over it. I'm moving on to Darlington and gearing up for another great race. In the words of my dear wife who felt the need to text me as I was walking through the crowd at RIR Saturday night.

F18

F18

In order to move on with my thoughts and my life I guess I need to address the turn 3 fracas with Kyle Busch and Dale Jr. As a fan I was violently angry and shared in a profanity laced tirade from the back stretch. However, trying remove my biases I've still got my issues.

My first being that Kyle Busch keeps getting a pass for "racing deals". Things happen, but there has to be some responsibility or culpability in everything. Kyle Busch is consistently reckless with his car and his attitude. If that exact scenario plays out with Jeff Burton or Mark Martin then it would be easy to write off as a major disappointment, but Shrub seems to do it over and over. If there was a teenager who constantly sped through your neighborhood and eventually ran down a kid who ran out in the street to get his ball...would that be a "driving deal"? I know, it's a little extreme of a jump but time and time again this kid's actions are written off. The announcers are always baffled at how Kyle Busch can run with the car sideways, but I'm under the impression if he could figure out how to drive with the car straight he might finish more races. Is he talented? You better believe it. He can wheel anything with 4 wheels under it. I'm just not ready to sign over the world to him because of his quick start.

I've heard several defenses with the biggest seeming to be a reference to Earnhardt Sr. and Texas Terry. Really? This kid racks up some wins and we feel we need to compare him to a legend? Let's forget the fact that once you've added up multiple championships that you get a bit more leeway in on track incidents. Instead let's focus on the biggest difference, when Dale Sr emerged from the #3 Chevy he made a point to apologize. Terry didn't seem to care what he said, but he still said it. Maybe he didn't mean it, maybe he did, but regardless he showed remorse. Kyle Busch is a cocky prick who feels there's no need to accept any responsiblity. We're just taking up space in his world and we need to get out of the way.

So with all that said...I'm over it. I'm moving on to Darlington and gearing up for another great race. In the words of my dear wife who felt the need to text me as I was walking through the crowd at RIR Saturday night.

F18

My trip in Twitter

Here's all my "tweets" from the Richmond trip. From about an hour after we left until I was home safe and sound.

Forgot the tickets and had to go back. Only lost an hour, but not a good start.
Past bristol. Need a nap.
There's a lot of guys in cowboy hats.
80 miles out of charlottesville
Rowdy at 2.
Showing buck and bass twitter. Like a deer learning to walk.
Just got back from Rowdy HQ. Good peoples and good times. www.rowdy.com trust me, you need to check it.
It's official, NO BACKPACKS at the track. Going to try and cram mycamera gear into my Dale Jr. cooler.
Hunting for another cooler and grabbing lunch.
For all concerned...we have eaten.
Heading out to the track!!!
In traffic.
walking to the track.
Getting scanners.
At the speed stage.
This speed camera needs to show some love. I'm with dale sr.
Met up with bass. Good people... Get rowdy.
Made tv.
I think jr has put a dent in the gordon hatred.
Someone just said who is number eleven.
Getting ready to do work son.
June looks good.
Harvick is honked up.
Hooked up that is.
Jr in car audio is funny.
Fight in the stands.
Oh no. My wife loves the Dinger!
Wow!
Shoot out. Denny is locked though.
How bad does he want it?
I think they're gonna riot.
Bass masters is my hero.
Up and moving...heading out of Charlottesville in a few. LONG haul home today.
Some times you've just gotta eat at denny's.
Back home safe and sound. Good to see the wifey and my babies
1200 Miles in 3 days and a long day at the track makes Monday morning rough.