Mark Wright’s Blog

I saw something today that I have seen numerous times in the past few years.  I saw NASCAR driver Kyle Busch throw a tantrum.  For those of you who don’t know, Kyle Busch is a race car driver.  He is one of the best the sport has seen in recent years.  The kid can flat drive the wheels off a car, truck and probably anything else that has wheels.  I’m sure if he was piloting a Rascal, he would be fast.  He is also one of the biggest sore losers in the sport. 

During Monday’s truck race at Martinsville, Virginia, he was nudged out of the way by Kevin Harvick with about 10 laps to go after leading for most of the race.  With Martinsville being the smallest track on the NASCAR circuit, there is a lot of beating and banging.  What Harvick did was completely acceptable and knowing Busch’s reputation in the past, he would have done the same thing had the tables been turned.  This put him in second place.  With a couple of laps left, a caution came out and while Busch was trying to rub up against the wall to dislodge a crunched in fender, he was penalized for a commitment line violation so he was placed back in 17^th place where he finished the race. 

The race finishes with Harvick as the winner and then the fun begins.  The camera goes to Busch who takes off his helmet and gloves and throws them on the truck.  He then goes tromping across the racetrack and leaves the track.  I guess he needed to be somewhere.

This is the most recent of many occasions in which Busch has shown less than good sportsmanship.  Heck, I don’t even want to call it sportsmanship.  It is more than that.  It is more about not being a jackass and embarrassing yourself.  I’m tired of people trying to defend Busch say that he just really wants to win.  Every driver out there wants to win.  You don’t see Jeff Gordon doing it.  You don’t see Tony Stewart doing it.  Ok bad example with Tony but I like him and he has mellowed out considerably. 

I’m not going to get into the whole role model thing because I think it is highly overrated.  More than anything else, I feel bad for the guy because he comes across as a petulant child.  It doesn’t seem to bother him but it should. 

I can’t imagine having something bad happen at work and venting by throwing computer keyboards and notepads across the room.  People would think I was a nut.  I can understand the guy not liking to lose and even getting upset about it.  However, have the self respect throw your tantrums in private.

There have been many comparisons of Kyle Busch to the late Dale Earnhardt.  Other than they win a lot and weren’t afraid to driving aggressively, I don’t see much of a comparison.  Earnhardt didn’t complain or throw tantrums.  He would get even on the track by winning.

Right now, Kyle Busch, in my opinion, is the most talented driver in NASCAR.  He is fearless and can do things with a race car or truck that defy physics.  Anytime he crawls into a car or truck, he is a favorite to win.  He is still young so hopefully he will grow out of the tantrums.  I’m sure he is probably a pretty decent guy.  I know he works with charities and when things are going well, he can be, dare I say, charming.  I like that he is cocky and that he doesn’t endear himself to the fans.  When he does his bow after winning a race to thousands of booing fans, that makes me laugh.  However the tantrums have got to go.  You are too good of a driver to be acting like a little kid.