World doesn’t revolve around Busch
Published 8:05 pm Saturday, May 29, 2010
There has been much talk about the “new, improved, more mature” Kyle Busch. Don’t believe any of the talk, Mr. Busch himself dispelled any notion last Saturday night that his disposition or attitude has improved.
During the final 10-lap segment of the All-Star race, Denny Hamlin was the leader, racing for a $1 million payday and the glory that goes with winning the race. Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch, was running second and, attempted to make the pass around Hamlin. And did you know Hamlin had the audacity to not allow Busch to simply drive by? Imagine that, Hamlin wanted to win the race himself.
Hamlin held his position and Busch ended up scraping the wall, bending his front fender that eventually led to a blown tire and a race-ending wreck. On the radio after the wreck, Busch pitched his typical fit, saying he wanted to kill Hamlin.
Kyle, guess what—the world does not revolve around the No. 18 car. In this instance, there were 20 other drivers on the track doing everything possible to win the race and the big payday. Teammate or not, Hamlin would have done himself, and his team, a huge disservice to simply move over and let Busch pass.
And, in another real classy move, Kyle drove to Hamlin’s hauler to wait until the end of the race to confront his teammate. But, there was someone waiting with him at Hamlin’s hauler, team owner Joe Gibbs. I suspect that Coach Gibbs settled Busch down a good bit before Hamlin arrived.
Kyle’s brother, Kurt, ended up winning the All-Star race and Hamlin finished fourth. The back and forth bickering between Kyle and Hamlin has continued this week and it will be interesting to see if this little tiff spills over the 600-mile race at Charlotte.
Kyle Busch is one of most talented racecar drivers in the world. He is fearless and does things on the racetrack that other drivers would not even attempt. But his off the track antics really makes it easy to not like the guy. Maybe, one day, the new and improved Kyle will actually show up.
If you didn’t get to see the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last Sunday afternoon, do yourself a favor and make sure to catch the replays. If you enjoy racing and NASCAR history, the induction is a can’t miss. The stories told by presenters and the acceptance speeches by two of the inductees are classic.
Richard Petty and Junior Johnson were there to accept induction, but the other three inductees, Bill France, Bill France, Jr, and Dale Earnhardt have all died and their respective families accepted in their honor. Check it out, you won’t be sorry.
The Coca-Cola 600 is Sunday night at Charlotte. My pick to win, and become a two-time race winner, is Brad Keselowski.