Fan's Eye View ~ Kyle Busch Just Needs TO Leave
6/04/2014 |
Armchair NASCAR officials, gather ‘round. Because we are all such experts on what is best for everyone and how everyone should act, I felt it was time that I chimed in on the situation we witnessed this past weekend at Dover.
On lap 124 at Dover, after leading the race for 81 laps prior, Clint Bowyer, perhaps thinking he was clear, came up on Kyle Busch as they came out of the turn. The two made contact and Busch’s car made contact with the wall, ending his bid at a weekend sweep at the Monster Mile. Busch, obviously upset, slowed and began to hunt Bowyer on the track, slowing down and moving in behind him as he passed. Busch’s crew appealed to him to be smart and stop his car, which he did without further incident.
Busch then exited his car, made his way through the garage, up the steps which lead to Dover’s carriage racing track, across the track and into the driver’s motorhome lot which resides on the right side of Dover’s infield. He did all of this without comment to the ever present and curious media.
The question which many now feel needs to be answered is, should Kyle Busch have walked away without commenting on the incident with Bowyer.
The answer apparently lies in the eye of the beholder. The fans are split on this one, and I won’t even let you guess where that split lies. Most of those who consider themselves Kyle Busch fans are in support of his decision to walk away, while those fans who do not belong to the group that calls Kyle Busch their favorite driver would say he was childish and unaccommodating.
Did you ever say or do anything you wished you could take back as soon as you said or did it? I can assure you I have. I am ultra-competitive, and let me tell you, at work softball games I have gotten into the face of an umpire over what I know was a bad call. I once asked the man in blue what game he was watching because if he was watching the one I was watching he would have known that the runner’s foot hit the base before the fielder made the tag, and in this game, that what is known as “safe.” I said other stuff, too, but I won’t get into that. It wasn’t bad enough to get me thrown out of the game, but it was bad enough that I regretted saying it, and now I regret the entire situation. He was just trying to do his job, and he was doing it as best as he could. Sometimes you just need to walk away from the bad situation. Sometimes you just need to leave. That runner was safe, though.
Just as I felt the runner was safe, Kyle Busch felt he was wronged on the track. We’ve seen what happens before when Kyle Busch feels like he was wronged on the track. It ends up with someone getting spun out under caution, an official getting single finger salutes, or perhaps even fights in the garage, where someone has to hold someone else’s watch. It was after Dover just a few years ago, when Kyle Busch dominated the race in September, but his TRD engine was sipping gas at a rate slightly faster than that of some other drivers, and he had to make an extra pit stop. Busch came across the radio as the checkered flag fell and let everyone know exactly what he thought of that situation. All of those instances were probably some that Kyle Busch would rather not relive. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a bad situation. Sometimes you just need to leave.
I truly believe that when Kyle Busch chose to exit his car and make an uncomfortable journey into the motorhome lot, he showed much more maturity that he would have had he stayed around and said something snarky or profane, embarrassing the sport, his team, and his sponsors. Maybe Kyle Busch just needs to leave.
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