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

Different schools of thought

Last year during the fall Bristol race I found myself in a house divided. My stepfather and a few others seemed uneasy with the race. It wasn’t the “old Bristol” and they weren’t happy. However, I was excited with what I was seeing. It wasn’t the “old Bristol”, but it was great racing.

I loved the beating and banging that Bristol had always given us. Sheet metal peeled back, panels crushed in, and cars looking like they’d tried speeding through a concrete forest. Rusty and Jeff, Dale and Terry, and countless other bump’n’run/beat’n’bang type races captivated me. I won’t lie, I missed some of that. However, I didn’t miss watching cars ride around for a third of the race under caution.

We also got something from the new surface that we’d never seen to this new extent. Passing. Bristol has always been a 1 ½ lane track at best, but this surface has made for legitimate 3 wide passing in the turns. No longer do you have to tune your car to 1 groove. A driver can search the track for the line that fits his current setup. Not only that, but as opposed to nearly wrecking the car in front of you in order to get around them you can pass. You can pass high. You can pass low. You can finally work the track.

Maybe there’s a happy medium. Maybe once the new surface gets a bit more seasoned we’ll see a compromise between passing and bumping that will please everyone. For now however, I’m just excited that we’ve got great short track racing to watch this Sunday.