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Posted on April 2, 2008
Notebook: "Rowdy"? Try "Reckless"
With ¼ mile to go,
Johnny Benson appeared to be headed to a
solid second place finish. Then it all
went up in smoke. The culprit? Kyle
“Rowdy” Busch. Business was usual with
Busch as he raced over his head, caused
an accident, and ruined the day of a
regular competitor in one of NASCAR’s
feeder series. Enough is enough, and its
time that NASCAR takes a stand. While
Busch has a full-time job racing Cup;
many other drivers do not. It isn’t fair
to these drivers whose livelihood
depends on racing trucks or in the
Nationwide series to allow full-time Cup
drivers go for broke in their series.
NASCAR should bar drivers in the top 20
in points from racing in the Craftsman
Truck Series, and severely limit starts
in the Nationwide series. The Truck and
Nationwide Series need to remain as a
feeder and training series for young and
upcoming drivers; not a chance for the
Cup drivers to cash an extra paycheck.
Last week, a points swap was denied
to Michael Waltrip Racing. I applaud
NASCAR for this decision, but it needs
to be handled consistently. Teams should
not be allowed to ‘buy’ other teams
points, nor should rookie drivers assume
the points of veteran drivers. Drivers
should make races based on their skill,
and their skill alone. Otherwise, it
becomes a sham for a team to use the
provisional system shamelessly. NASCAR
needs to consider barring such moves
completely in the future.
We also lost Max Helton, the founder
of MRO on Sunday. What started as a
three-person Bible study group on the
weekends has translated to a full-time
ministry to the drivers. Brief chapel
services are held before races. While
short, the messages are inspirational
and I’m confident that the drivers who
attend chapel find them uplifting as
well.
15 years ago, as a third grader, I
turned on the TV and heard news of a
small plane crash in Tennessee. I didn’t
imagine at the time it could have been
one of my heroes—reigning Winston Cup
Champion Alan Kulwicki. Sadly, it seems
in today’s “modern” NASCAR, drivers like
Alan are forgotten. Instead, young
hotshots and drivers who basically get
sponsors’ exemptions are giving the
attention instead. Robby Gordon carries
Alan’s legacy by having the number 7
grace the side of his car. Godspeed,
Alan.
You can
contact Mark at
modor@speedwaymedia.com
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