The Aftermath of Kurt’s Drama
Jess
I guess Speedweeks started out a little rough for me with the whole Kurt deal because whenever he gets in trouble I'm always afraid he's going to get suspended. As of today there's been no word from NASCAR what penalties may be in store, so I'm trying not to worry about it. He participated in the Shootout - and being parked for that race was my imminent fear - and battled side-by-side with Tony and didn't have any issues, although he had enough issues on his own, unfortunately.
Tony did a good job of making me want to pull my hair out with his comments about Kurt Sunday. He had nothing but nice things to say about his talent and passion, but what really interested me was that he remarked that he didn't blame him for the retaliation and that he (being Tony) has done a lot worse, so he can't hold a grudge against him. This is what freaks me out so bad about him and how the media treat him differently than Kurt!
First of all, why does Tony have to keep getting himself into these situations to begin with? And secondly, why is the media calling for Kurt's head on a plate when Tony Stewart has admittedly done far worse things and has never been punished as harshly for it?
The media has been too harsh, IMO, on Kurt, and that includes the guys in the booth (I'll minus Darrell from this, as I think he's concerned about retaliation with cars but not totally against it, since he was one of those guys back when he raced), not to mention Jimmy Spencer, who in his days of being rideless is suddenly a self-appointed saint when it comes to racing emotion. Oh. Please. Tonight on This Week In NASCAR I expected Michael to go all out and bash Kurt to the floor because I know he's not all that fond of him. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the panel took the scene with a light heart and instead reminisced about their own retaliations - notably Michael's Darlington paybacks. I suppose I can't be one to preach about how retaliation is a total no-no, since I do have two pictures of Michael wiping out Jeff Green in 2005 on my college binder...just as a little reminder of how you can only let someone screw with you so long before you have to take a stand. Maybe Kurt was wrong, but he felt like he was being messed with and he wanted to let Tony know that.
I'm also curious about the rumored punch or the intention to punch; apparently Tony's fist went out of control inside the NASCAR hauler (good place) and was attracted to Kurt's face. And according to more rumors that Schrader shared with us tonight, it was over a comment Kurt made about Tony's new 'do. Ouch. As much as I try to refrain from jabbing at a person's physical appearance, I've never been a big fan of the long, greasy-haired looked either. Long hair is fine, but it doesn't require five pounds of gel!
So that's over for now. They're not out of the woods yet because NASCAR may still dish out some sort of a spanking, but I don't think it will be suspensions and maybe not even points. I think Kurt and Tony will be making their first donations to charity instead.
UPDATE (February 12):
Both Kurt and Tony were put on probation for six races; no point or monetary fines. I'm sort of surprised! But I hope that despite the light penalties both drivers will behave and leave each other alone.
Tony did a good job of making me want to pull my hair out with his comments about Kurt Sunday. He had nothing but nice things to say about his talent and passion, but what really interested me was that he remarked that he didn't blame him for the retaliation and that he (being Tony) has done a lot worse, so he can't hold a grudge against him. This is what freaks me out so bad about him and how the media treat him differently than Kurt!
First of all, why does Tony have to keep getting himself into these situations to begin with? And secondly, why is the media calling for Kurt's head on a plate when Tony Stewart has admittedly done far worse things and has never been punished as harshly for it?The media has been too harsh, IMO, on Kurt, and that includes the guys in the booth (I'll minus Darrell from this, as I think he's concerned about retaliation with cars but not totally against it, since he was one of those guys back when he raced), not to mention Jimmy Spencer, who in his days of being rideless is suddenly a self-appointed saint when it comes to racing emotion. Oh. Please. Tonight on This Week In NASCAR I expected Michael to go all out and bash Kurt to the floor because I know he's not all that fond of him. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the panel took the scene with a light heart and instead reminisced about their own retaliations - notably Michael's Darlington paybacks. I suppose I can't be one to preach about how retaliation is a total no-no, since I do have two pictures of Michael wiping out Jeff Green in 2005 on my college binder...just as a little reminder of how you can only let someone screw with you so long before you have to take a stand. Maybe Kurt was wrong, but he felt like he was being messed with and he wanted to let Tony know that.
I'm also curious about the rumored punch or the intention to punch; apparently Tony's fist went out of control inside the NASCAR hauler (good place) and was attracted to Kurt's face. And according to more rumors that Schrader shared with us tonight, it was over a comment Kurt made about Tony's new 'do. Ouch. As much as I try to refrain from jabbing at a person's physical appearance, I've never been a big fan of the long, greasy-haired looked either. Long hair is fine, but it doesn't require five pounds of gel!
So that's over for now. They're not out of the woods yet because NASCAR may still dish out some sort of a spanking, but I don't think it will be suspensions and maybe not even points. I think Kurt and Tony will be making their first donations to charity instead.
UPDATE (February 12):
Both Kurt and Tony were put on probation for six races; no point or monetary fines. I'm sort of surprised! But I hope that despite the light penalties both drivers will behave and leave each other alone.
