 | | Marty Smith says Kyle Busch can point the blame all he wants, but he better be looking in the mirror. Credit: Autostock |
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
June 1, 2006
12:53 PM EDT (16:53 GMT)
In a shocking development, Kyle Busch reacted like a child resisting naptime after wrecking out of the Coca-Cola 600, displaying a tantrum befitting Nellie Olson. Folks want to string him up by his toenails, flog him, relieve themselves on that plush lawn he unveiled during FOX's pre-race show last weekend. But why? In this instance Busch owes no one an apology but himself. Because ultimately, he's the only person that truly suffers from such immaturity. (All due respect to crew chief Alan Gustafson, of course. After the wreck, Gustafson had to sit around all night just to stand by as NASCAR officials blessed out his driver. Ugh.) I can't help but wonder how ridiculous Busch must have felt when he saw the replay. Is it frustrating to watch a top-five car roll away on a hook? Indescribably so. Does playing Ultimate Frisbee with a HANS device reverse time, piece it all back together? No. Maybe Busch will get a personal endorsement deal with Hasbro. He may need it someday. Kellogg's can't be happy. They love his talent, but the attitude's worn thin. They're a conservative family company, and thus it stands to reason they'd much rather Busch take the Carl Edwards approach: "Aww shucks, man, I got wrecked. It stinks, but it's OK. Casey is a neat guy. We'll hug it out at Dover." That's not realistic. Edwards is an anomaly. Few athletes show such restraint. I wish Busch would relish the bad-boy role. But reactions like this must be warranted. This one wasn't even close. Not that Busch pulled a Delmon Young or anything. Young, the first player taken in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft and one of the most promising prospects in the minor leagues, was suspended 50 games, without pay, after throwing a bat at an umpire. A well-deserved penalty. Busch didn't go to that extreme. His reaction didn't put Casey Mears' health in danger. It was merely irresponsible. Busch has said on multiple occasions that he wants to distance himself from his brother's tumultuous past. Personally, I feel this only worsens the stigma. Because honestly, I don't think we'd all be so quick to judge were the roles reversed. If it were Mears that resisted safety workers and threw his HANS device, would we even care? Probably not. NASCAR fined Busch 50 grand and placed him on probation for the rest of the year. It probably should have been twice that. He also got a points deduction, one warranted by precedence. But it's a shame his team has to suffer. Maybe Busch should give his portion of next week's winnings to the crew. Some say he should sit. I disagree. If NASCAR won't suspend a driver for retaliating with his car, then in no way should it sit him just for throwing an object at another vehicle. Rusty Wallace says he should get his "ass kicked." If Mears opts to dot his eyeball in Dover, fine. Henceforth nothing pertaining to the matter, well, matters. The damage is done. And ultimately Kyle Busch is the only one that suffers. The opinions expressed are solely of the writer. | 
