Big news last week, there was a fight in Nascar. Lately that doesn't seem like big news, everyother week it seems someone is mad at another driver, for racing them wrong or touching them. Nascar's answer to down ratings and attendance has been "boys have it." This idea is take car of business on track and we'll stay out of it, no punishment. Well that idea has been bubbling and bubbling, finally coming to a head a few ago in Darlington, when Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick got into a tif on the track, which spilled onto pit road. Harvick got out of car to confront Busch, Kyle not wanting to fight pushed Harvicks unoccupied car out of the way, and into the pit wall. Doing damage to a car that was virtually spotless. When Kyle punted that car it caused a lot of work for Harvick's team at the Richard Childress Racing shop, making them fix that front end. Afterward, Harvick's team owner let Kyle Busch know that if he messed with his equipment anymore, he was gonna whoop him. Well, it happened and Childress held to him promise.
Last Saturday at Kansas, in the Truck race Kyle wasn't happy with the way RCR driver Joey Coulter passed him at the end of the race for 5th. I repeat FOR 5TH, and Kyle can't score driver points so it's not like he's going for a driver championship, he is after a owner championship but it was only one damn point. Well Kyle gave Coulter a little bump after the race, which people do all the damn time, in doing so he wrinkled the rear quarter panel of the 22 truck a little. Well Childress wasn't happy, so 30 minutes after the race, once coverage was over by the way, Childress confronted Kyle, putting him a headlock and punching him in the face. Details are sketchy how many times he smacked him, but Kyle didn't fight back, he never does, he's not a driver not a fighter according to him. I've never been in a fight, don't want to be, but if a 60+ guy was jacking me in the face I'd maybe hit back. Kyle didn't which is fine, keep himself out of trouble I guess.
Word of the fight got out, people reported on it like it was no big deal which really got under my skin. Nascar handed Childress a 150 thousand dollar fine, and probation the rest of the year-which is bogus Nascar probation is like community service not punishment at all. At first I was upset about the fine, I was told that's basically a car, and since this isn't the NFL with tons of money I'm ok with it, sort of. I do feel though people are giving Childress a pass b/c he hit someone nobody likes. Childress is an owner, Kyle is a driver, these two shouldn't be in an altercation. I'll use other sports, last weeks topic with Scott Cousins vs Buster Posey, Giants GM said some stuff on the radio, repeat SAID stuff, didn't do hit Cousins or anything, but the media killed Sabean and were calling for suspensions, and saying what Sabean did was out of line. What if Mark Cuban after the game went to the Heat locker room and decked Dwayne Wade? David Stern would take away his franchise. What if Jerry Jones punched a kicker from another team after the dude hit a last second fg. The media would kill him and he wouldn't be allowed at a game for a whole season I would guess. Well, because Nascar is a good ole boy sport (read: bunch of hicks turning left) everyone just wants to make jokes and burn down Kyle Busch for getting hit by a senior citizen. Kyle Petty made a joke about on Speed channel with fans behind him making them all cheep, Darrell Waltrip said Childress had passion and passion is good for the sport. I don't argue that passion is bad but Owners and Athletes need to be stay seperated, and owners can't be touching them and vice versa. Physical confrontations aren't needed and frankly Nascar drivers and owners a like need to stop being so damn sensative, and maybe Nascar needs to get rid of "boys have at it" because obviously the drivers aren't policing themselves with just bumpers anymore.
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