Kurt and the Budweiser Shootout Practice
Jess
I'm pretty upset right now...and I've had a long time to think about it. Everything was going great in Speedweeks - MWR is awesome, my other boys are doing fine, yay happy smiles. All I could think about was how much I was looking forward to every speck of NASCAR coverage SPEED is showing.
Last night Kurt drew the pole for the Budweiser Shootout, which was, of course, very amusing to all Kurt Busch fans because of the marketing nightmare that is to Budweiser. Despite being sick with the flu Kurt held himself so well I didn't even realize he was sick until I read it online. This was encouraging because he was focused and ready to go win the Shootout even if he was feeling under the weather.
First practice went well. It was pretty wild and the cars were moving around a lot, but other than J.J. Yeley's cut tire that he caught in time to avoid a wreck it was incident free. Ahhh.
Second practice was when all hell broke loose. Luckily for Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer their tangle seems to be talked over and all is well, even though it caused a huge wreck that took out a couple guys. From then on there was a tension.
Kurt was up near the front of the pack, and all of a sudden the commentators said that dreaded word "trouble" and showed the #2 slow on the track with smoke trailing behind it. At first I thought he blew an engine. And then I realized he was wrecked. And then, of all people, he was approaching Tony Stewart's 20 car at a high rate of speed.
KURT!!! STOP!!! DON'T DO IT DON'T DO IT DON'T!!!!!
But he did. SLAM!!
I had a flashback of the nightmare at Dover last season. Tony had been screwing with him the last few laps and finally wiped him out. Kurt retaliated on pit road, but to complicate things a crew member got involved and jumped out of the way as Kurt drove alongside Tony. I sat for days worrying. I was going down to Pocono the next weekend, and I was fully prepared to go and see someone else driving the #2 after Kurt was suspended. I was ready to accept that because I didn't agree with what Kurt did even though I understood why he did it. The crew member did not get hit, Kurt did not try to murder the guy, but I had to live with people saying he was out for blood. But I was lucky. He was 100 points down at Pocono, but NASCAR let him race.
Kurt gave Tony a good bump. He let him know how he felt. Then Pat Tryson came over the radio and told him to stop, and Kurt stopped. Tony decided to keep going, however. As Kurt went to turn into the entrance to the garage Tony slammed on the brakes and blocked him. Kurt went to go around his nose - and Tony blocked him again, not to mention he nearly took out Martin Truex Jr. at the same time. Kurt had to reverse, turn and reverse again to go around the back of Tony's car, where he was met by a few of the Home Depot crew. They threw up their arms like macho gangsters, they got near his window and as the parting shot one stepped right into Kurt's path as he was moving and slapped the hood and then the back of Kurt's car!
I was enraged by now. Who did they think they were? For a crew that was so concerned about the life of one of their own put in "danger" at Dover, they certainly had no thoughts about putting themselves in front of a car that was damaged by a wreck and leaving it very little room for it to maneuver. They had no business to march out onto pit lane. The #20 was drivable. The crew, though, was looking for a little drama. They were thinking of Dover, and knowing they are apparently immune to Kurt's car. That gave them the right to harrass him and put their hands on his sheetmetal? That was unbelievable.
I don't know what's going to happen to Kurt. Already I've heard way too many people on TV say over and over how wrong he is. He is. But they're leaving out the one person who instigated this mess with his cocky move on the track. The person with a long history of anger and car and physical altercations with a large list of drivers and just about anyone else who can walk around the the garage - a history Kurt can't even begin the compete with. Tony Stewart is a bully. He loves to push others over their breaking point. He loves to insult others, like he did to Darrell on live TV a few years ago. He has no respect. He is the master of manipulating any situtation into anyone else's fault but his own.
And he's allowed to do that. He's encouraged to do that. Bad boy. He wrecked someone. Yeah, bad boy. He punched a photographer. Bad boy. He tells a camera to get the fuck away. Bad boy. He blows off a fan for an autograph. Bad boy. He screws with Kurt's head and has a hissy fit when Kurt retaliates. Bad boy.
No, that sounds like someone with some issues to me. Like a spoiled kid he gets his way. Little slaps on the hand by NASCAR. Praise by the media he hates so much. Yet Kurt has been through more than he has. He has been humilated far more than he has. And Kurt is more of a man than he is. Funny how some go through controversy and grow up, and some just keep going through controversy and feed off of it.
And to what the media is saying about how using the cars to retaliate - okay. From Day 1 of NASCAR racing, drivers have used their cars to retaliate. Dale Earnhardt made using cars as weapons famous. Michael Waltrip used his car back at Darlington in 2005 to show Jeff Green how he felt about him. In fact, there are very few drivers who have never used their car as a weapon. So to point fingers at Kurt and say that he was so wrong is so hypocritical when it's a part of racing - a violent part that I don't really enjoy, but a part all the same and always will be until somehow a car will automatically turn off at the slightest touch, or at NASCAR's will. As much as I love DW, when he pointed that finger at Kurt I couldn't help but wonder how many times Darrell used his car to bump someone.
What are drivers supposed to do? Every time one gets mad at another is the whole race supposed to be stopped so they can all get out and beat the crap out of each other? Is it better to have these drivers physically assaulting each other than bumping side panels? I don't agree with being mad at someone and hooking them right into the wall, but the bumping Kurt did to Tony was harmless and justified. I'm sorry, but Kurt and Tony were not going to have a little sissy fight like Kevin Harvick and Juan Montoya did. If they had gotten to each other out on that infield there would have been fists and blood. Is that better for the sport? And let's say the crews come out to defend their driver and now we have a huge mob of people throwing punches. Give me a break. It's so funny in theory I suppose, but not in real life.
I want to cry when I think about what Kurt must be feeling. He's like the good kid in school who is bullied by the big tough guy that everyone is too afraid to stand up to. But then the kid loses his temper and fights back he's the one who gets suspended, and the bully holds his broken nose and bawls and gets escorted to the nurse's office by a cooing teacher. I hope NASCAR sees this; I hope they see he's a good person who has matured so much since he left Roush. Since he left that hell hole, the only person to make him snap is Tony Stewart. His own brother wiped him out and he didn't freak out.
Kurt deserves to race tomorrow. He really does. But if NASCAR won't let him...what can I do about it? He retaliated and he knows it, and NASCAR knows it, and it's exactly what Tony was hoping for because that's the story of his life. If Kurt has to sit my only hope is that Tony sits too and feels that humiliation I think he needs to feel to grow up. Don't worry about it, Tony. The fans and your precious media will always back you. Maybe. Keep listening for the boos when your name is announced - and keep listening for the increased cheers Kurt is getting. People like a guy who has grown into maturity.
Last night Kurt drew the pole for the Budweiser Shootout, which was, of course, very amusing to all Kurt Busch fans because of the marketing nightmare that is to Budweiser. Despite being sick with the flu Kurt held himself so well I didn't even realize he was sick until I read it online. This was encouraging because he was focused and ready to go win the Shootout even if he was feeling under the weather.
First practice went well. It was pretty wild and the cars were moving around a lot, but other than J.J. Yeley's cut tire that he caught in time to avoid a wreck it was incident free. Ahhh.
Second practice was when all hell broke loose. Luckily for Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer their tangle seems to be talked over and all is well, even though it caused a huge wreck that took out a couple guys. From then on there was a tension.
Kurt was up near the front of the pack, and all of a sudden the commentators said that dreaded word "trouble" and showed the #2 slow on the track with smoke trailing behind it. At first I thought he blew an engine. And then I realized he was wrecked. And then, of all people, he was approaching Tony Stewart's 20 car at a high rate of speed.
KURT!!! STOP!!! DON'T DO IT DON'T DO IT DON'T!!!!!
But he did. SLAM!!
I had a flashback of the nightmare at Dover last season. Tony had been screwing with him the last few laps and finally wiped him out. Kurt retaliated on pit road, but to complicate things a crew member got involved and jumped out of the way as Kurt drove alongside Tony. I sat for days worrying. I was going down to Pocono the next weekend, and I was fully prepared to go and see someone else driving the #2 after Kurt was suspended. I was ready to accept that because I didn't agree with what Kurt did even though I understood why he did it. The crew member did not get hit, Kurt did not try to murder the guy, but I had to live with people saying he was out for blood. But I was lucky. He was 100 points down at Pocono, but NASCAR let him race.
Kurt gave Tony a good bump. He let him know how he felt. Then Pat Tryson came over the radio and told him to stop, and Kurt stopped. Tony decided to keep going, however. As Kurt went to turn into the entrance to the garage Tony slammed on the brakes and blocked him. Kurt went to go around his nose - and Tony blocked him again, not to mention he nearly took out Martin Truex Jr. at the same time. Kurt had to reverse, turn and reverse again to go around the back of Tony's car, where he was met by a few of the Home Depot crew. They threw up their arms like macho gangsters, they got near his window and as the parting shot one stepped right into Kurt's path as he was moving and slapped the hood and then the back of Kurt's car!
I was enraged by now. Who did they think they were? For a crew that was so concerned about the life of one of their own put in "danger" at Dover, they certainly had no thoughts about putting themselves in front of a car that was damaged by a wreck and leaving it very little room for it to maneuver. They had no business to march out onto pit lane. The #20 was drivable. The crew, though, was looking for a little drama. They were thinking of Dover, and knowing they are apparently immune to Kurt's car. That gave them the right to harrass him and put their hands on his sheetmetal? That was unbelievable.
I don't know what's going to happen to Kurt. Already I've heard way too many people on TV say over and over how wrong he is. He is. But they're leaving out the one person who instigated this mess with his cocky move on the track. The person with a long history of anger and car and physical altercations with a large list of drivers and just about anyone else who can walk around the the garage - a history Kurt can't even begin the compete with. Tony Stewart is a bully. He loves to push others over their breaking point. He loves to insult others, like he did to Darrell on live TV a few years ago. He has no respect. He is the master of manipulating any situtation into anyone else's fault but his own.
And he's allowed to do that. He's encouraged to do that. Bad boy. He wrecked someone. Yeah, bad boy. He punched a photographer. Bad boy. He tells a camera to get the fuck away. Bad boy. He blows off a fan for an autograph. Bad boy. He screws with Kurt's head and has a hissy fit when Kurt retaliates. Bad boy.
No, that sounds like someone with some issues to me. Like a spoiled kid he gets his way. Little slaps on the hand by NASCAR. Praise by the media he hates so much. Yet Kurt has been through more than he has. He has been humilated far more than he has. And Kurt is more of a man than he is. Funny how some go through controversy and grow up, and some just keep going through controversy and feed off of it.
And to what the media is saying about how using the cars to retaliate - okay. From Day 1 of NASCAR racing, drivers have used their cars to retaliate. Dale Earnhardt made using cars as weapons famous. Michael Waltrip used his car back at Darlington in 2005 to show Jeff Green how he felt about him. In fact, there are very few drivers who have never used their car as a weapon. So to point fingers at Kurt and say that he was so wrong is so hypocritical when it's a part of racing - a violent part that I don't really enjoy, but a part all the same and always will be until somehow a car will automatically turn off at the slightest touch, or at NASCAR's will. As much as I love DW, when he pointed that finger at Kurt I couldn't help but wonder how many times Darrell used his car to bump someone.
What are drivers supposed to do? Every time one gets mad at another is the whole race supposed to be stopped so they can all get out and beat the crap out of each other? Is it better to have these drivers physically assaulting each other than bumping side panels? I don't agree with being mad at someone and hooking them right into the wall, but the bumping Kurt did to Tony was harmless and justified. I'm sorry, but Kurt and Tony were not going to have a little sissy fight like Kevin Harvick and Juan Montoya did. If they had gotten to each other out on that infield there would have been fists and blood. Is that better for the sport? And let's say the crews come out to defend their driver and now we have a huge mob of people throwing punches. Give me a break. It's so funny in theory I suppose, but not in real life.
I want to cry when I think about what Kurt must be feeling. He's like the good kid in school who is bullied by the big tough guy that everyone is too afraid to stand up to. But then the kid loses his temper and fights back he's the one who gets suspended, and the bully holds his broken nose and bawls and gets escorted to the nurse's office by a cooing teacher. I hope NASCAR sees this; I hope they see he's a good person who has matured so much since he left Roush. Since he left that hell hole, the only person to make him snap is Tony Stewart. His own brother wiped him out and he didn't freak out.
Kurt deserves to race tomorrow. He really does. But if NASCAR won't let him...what can I do about it? He retaliated and he knows it, and NASCAR knows it, and it's exactly what Tony was hoping for because that's the story of his life. If Kurt has to sit my only hope is that Tony sits too and feels that humiliation I think he needs to feel to grow up. Don't worry about it, Tony. The fans and your precious media will always back you. Maybe. Keep listening for the boos when your name is announced - and keep listening for the increased cheers Kurt is getting. People like a guy who has grown into maturity.
