Kurt Busch appears at the pre-fight weigh in. Credit: AP
August 26, 2003
4:48 PM EDT (2048 GMT)
Is Kurt Busch hated now?
Marty Smith: I think the overall feeling among fans is that he's a spoiled brat, and judging by the raucous boos Lee and I heard at Bristol, he has some ground to make up. And in talking to his peers, I know he has ground to make up in the respect department. He isn't overly well thought of it the garage right now. And blaming the media for his woes? Bad idea.
Lee Montgomery: Did you not hear the boos? He's public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of most fans. We can talk for a long time about why, but if he wants to win the fans, he's got a lot of work to do.
Dave Rodman: Now? What makes you ask that question now? In fact, that topic is so old, I am going to retire from discussing it. Indigestion this early in the morning is something I don't want to risk.
Ryan Smithson: He didn't help things by refusing to apologize to Spencer for his racing tactics. It made things worse by saying that he "doesn't respect him." On the other hand, Harvick clearly dislikes Busch, but you could tell he respected him.
Lee Montgomery: Busch would be wise to sit down with Harvick. Harvick was in Busch's position not that long ago, and look at him now.
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Ryan Smithson: Harvick never got punched by someone. Harvick never used "old, decrepit has-been" on national TV.
Lee Montgomery: That's not what we're talking about.
Marty Smith: Kevin was very open about his feelings about Busch. He praised his driving ability, but absolutely blasted him personally.
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Lee Montgomery: Harvick's peers didn't respect him. Busch's peers don't respect him.
Ryan Smithson: You think they respect Harvick now?
Lee Montgomery: That was my point. Are they exactly the same? Of course not. So don't read into stuff.
Lee Montgomery: I believe they do. I think Harvick has changed in the last year or so.
 | Best email we got last week | | Good stuff as usual, but I am greatly disappointed as you all missed the important questions this week in Track Smack.... |
| | 1. Would an emergency escape hatch in the roof have helped Kurt Busch avoid injury in the post race incident at Michigan? Or at least have given us a good Three Stooges-type fight? |
| | 2. What was the reaction time by the safety crew to attend to Kurt's nose? |
| | These are the vital safety concerns that direly need to be addressed!!! |
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Ryan Smithson: Harvick creates fires. Busch creates fires. But Harvick does not pour gasoline on his fires. Busch does.
Lee Montgomery: Harvick used to. That's my point.
Marty Smith: Smithson just doesn't get it, Lee. The deal is that they've gone through similar situations -- they had to grow up quick. Hell, in a week. Kevin's a different guy now. He understands the game and how it has to be played.
Lee Montgomery: Exactly.
Ryan Smithson: You guys are comparing apples to oranges. Harvick never had a two-year run-in with one driver. He had sporadic incidents. But Marty, I think what you just said is right.
Lee Montgomery: And that's just what I said. No one here is attacking Kurt Busch. The drivers did that for us.
You guys shocked that Todd Parrott was named as Elliott Sadler's crew chief? Will he help?
Lee Montgomery: A better question might be, does anything shock us in NASCAR?
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| Todd Parrott (left) with Elliott Sadler Credit: Autostock |
Ryan Smithson: Shocked is not the word. I wouldn't know what to call it.
Marty Smith: I was shocked. It's like one of our colleagues said to me this weekend, if you'd given me 1000 choices for Sadler's new crew chief I wouldn't have said Parrott. It just seemed the falling out was too intense and final.
Ryan Smithson: Having Todd Parrott should jump-start that team, though. Can't get worse.
Lee Montgomery: Listen, Todd is clearly a talented guy, but that was just weird. Everyone assumed he'd never go back to Yates, but here he is. Doesn't make sense.
Marty Smith: Todd is extremely pleased to be back. You can see the fire in his eyes. He's rested and ready to revitalize a fledgling team. But there is one other thing that stick out to me:
Dave Rodman: Well, from Todd's perspective, he was absolutely aching to get back with Robert Yates Racing. That surprised me when I talked to him at Daytona, his first race back.
Marty Smith: He was still on the payroll, so why not get him in there and get him to work.
Ryan Smithson: I think you just answered the question, Marty.
Lee Montgomery: Yeah they were paying him a lot of money, so why not put him to work?
Ryan Smithson: Hey, if I am going to pay you, at least come in and give us some feedback on what we're doing wrong.
Lee Montgomery: Now, if only we could Ryan to do the same. Why do we pay him anyway?
Ryan Smithson: Not sure. I definitely have not won 24 races.
Marty Smith: Smithson offers plenty of feedback, Lee. It all just sucks.
Dave Rodman: I think the model that Little Raymond and Shawn showed them at the beginning of the year shows that a combination like that can be effective, so I would say 'look out.' I thought ESad was on the verge of something pretty good back at the beginning of the season, before their deal got torn apart.
Marty Smith: Amen, Dave. When E finished fifth at Martinsville and was, I think, fifth in points. I thought it was his year to break out.
Ryan Smithson: You know, boys, that was a stat that shocked me. Todd Parrott is the winningest active crew chief.
Marty Smith: How many races has Jimmy Fennig won?
Ryan Smithson: Probably 1-2 less than Todd. He's got to be close.
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| That's not funny, Jimmy. Raise the umbrella. |
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Lee Montgomery: How many does Todd have?
Ryan Smithson: Todd has 24 victories. I will check and see what the other guys have.
Lee Montgomery: Fennig has 24 as well.
Ryan Smithson: Yep, he tied him with the win at Bristol.
Dave Rodman: Whoever the previous leader was had 23 -- and that could be Jimmy since he just scored another.
Marty Smith: How 'bout that. I don't have a single dad gum stat in front of me and I can still discount Smithson. Unbelievable.
Lee Montgomery: Good work.
Ryan Smithson: You didn't discount me, dude.
Dave Rodman: I don't think I would beat my chest over that, Marty.
Lee Montgomery: No wonder we pay you the big bucks.
Marty Smith: Good point, Rodzilla.
Who is the man to beat at Darlington?
Dave Rodman: Jeff Gordon has got a gorilla on his back, or I would say he is. Tony Stewart is due -- and so is Jeff Burton.
Ryan Smithson: Anyone else, Dave? You just picked the whole field.
Dave Rodman: But based on what he has done the last few weeks, and given the historical import -- I would say Dale Jarrett.
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| Decisions, decisions. |
Lee Montgomery: Ready to hear the boos again? Kurt Busch. Say what you want about the guy, but he can drive. And frankly, it was incredible that he was able to focus on Bristol and win that race with everything swirling around him. Two in a row this weekend.
Ryan Smithson: Lee, I doubt he was thinking about Jimmy Spencer and the media while he was trying to clear Larry Foyt. But I will agree with you for this weekend. I'll bet he is thinking about catching Ryan Newman.
Marty Smith: Sterling Marlin becomes the 15th different winner. He's due and has run well, and knows Darlington really well.
Ryan Smithson: That team is too snakebit, Marty. That ain't got that much luck.
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Dave Rodman: That's a good call, Marty. I hope he's got one bent fender at the line, hint-hint. Whoops, forgot. Race drivers don't do that. Do they?
Marty Smith: They've had the worst freakin' luck. It's their turn for some love, man.
Lee Montgomery: Dave almost said something controversial?
Ryan Smithson: Sterling does not have a top five this year. Amazing.
Marty Smith: He should have a win. If he doesn't miss that shift at the first Michigan race, he'd have been right there vying for victory.
Ryan Smithson: Rodman's about to say the same thing about Todd Bodine.
Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com at 11 a.m. ET sharp.
The opinions listed here are solely those of the participants.
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