by Shannon Poe  |  About The Author   |  Discuss

There was a time when I recall NASCAR fans would “boo” at Kurt Busch like there was no tomorrow.  Then along came his brother Kyle and that may have been the elder Busch’s saving grace.  The shift to voicing dissention about Kyle Busch was an easy one for fans of the nation’s popular spectator sport.  At the time, Kyle Busch was barely an adult, and had a propensity for running his mouth.  Fast forward a handful of years and not much has changed.  Sometimes known by the nickname “shrub,” Kyle Busch is consistently rude, arrogant, mouthy, and unreasonably overzealous. 

The Nationwide Series race on Friday night at Richmond begins this introspective look into what Busch is capable of performing each weekend in this sport.  With the race coming to a close, Busch traded some nudges with Steven Wallace.  Wallace, a series regular and son of NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace, makes no bones about it.  Post race, a highly affronted Kyle Busch decided to go and speak with Wallace about the in-race altercation. What he got for his troubles was an annoyed Wallace grabbing his helmet from his seated position inside his racecar, and jerking him downward.  Suddenly, Busch gets angry and begins making “come on” motions and inciting a fight.  This was quickly broken up by team personnel and NASCAR officials.   During post-race interviews, Wallace avoided the topic as best he could.  When pressed, one comment he made stands out to me.  He referred to driver introductions and the fan response to Shrub, citing it as an important insight into how much anyone cares about him—one way or another.  A valid point, Mr. Wallace! 

Now we zip forward to Saturday night under the lights at Richmond.  A race that arguably belonged to Denny Hamlin.  Scoring the pole position, Hamlin went on to dominate the race leading 381 of 400 laps (setting a new race record at RIR) in the no. 11 Fed Ex Toyota, before falling victim to a flat tire.  This continues the issues that Hamlin and teammate Tony Stewart seem to be victims of this season:  dominate the race, fall victim to an unfortunate circumstance in the end, and lose.  Their teammate Kyle Busch seems to do the opposite, having scored a couple of wins so far this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, driver of the no. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, now had the opportunity to lead laps, and close the deal on a win.  An important win since the press has been incessantly reminding NASCAR fans that he is currently ensconced in a 71-race losing streak.  Meticulously, Earnhardt Jr leads his laps.  He fends off Kyle Busch with three laps to go before the checkered flag will drop.  Busch, racing hard, fights back and into turn three spins Earnhardt Jr.  Instantly, Richmond International Raceway is filled with screaming, cursing, and furious fans.  Fox Sports announcers are tripping over themselves trying to explain what happened to the television audience.  Darrel Waltrip, a past NASCAR champion, is working overtime trying to convince everyone that Kyle Busch didn’t mean to do it, and it was “one of those racing deals.”  Note to Mr. Waltrip, with all due respect, you can sell that garbage to someone who’s buying!  I might have bought the idea, grudgingly, had I not heard Kyle Busch post-race. 

Busch feels that it is a shame Earnhardt Jr didn’t win, because he’ll have to hear about it.  During this quick interview, he made note of a camera angle that would show that he got loose, and it was all an accident.  Either he was fed the lines, or he made them up.  Closely inspect the replay, and there are the telltale signs of tires going to the right.  “Oh, he was just trying to save the car from wrecking!”  That is the explanation that fans are given on that matter.  I must have missed the memo that states that the only way to save a car is to nose it sideways into another car.  I might be forgiving at a super-speedway or other track where the racing is three wide, and there is no place else to go.  That was not the scenario at Richmond last night.  He had other options.

The problem is that Kyle Busch could care less.  He does not care that fans are going to dislike him more.  (Is such a feat possible?)  He couldn’t give a flying rat’s fanny that he will endure the wrath of Jr. Nation; he is already disliked by so many fans and members of the sport to begin with.  There is nothing else that anyone can throw at him, both literally and figuratively.  On this incident, it is a waste of energy and rage to bother voicing too much displeasure at the way events unfolded at the spring race at Richmond.  Clint Bowyer, driver of the Richard Childress Racing no. 07, went on to win the race, holding off Busch’s no. 18 with help from the no. 8 Army Chevrolet piloted by Mark Martin.  Watching the last lap charge to the finish, it appeared that “Shrub” was being babysat by the veteran driver Martin, who kept him occupied as Bowyer scored his second Sprint Cup victory.

You can contact Shannon at shanjrfan8@aol.com

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