Weekend That Was: DIS

According to the Webster's Dictionary, the definition of teamwork is "joint action by a group of people, in which individual interests are subordinated to group unity and efficiency; coordinated effort, as of an athletic team."

The definition of teamwork in NASCAR apparently isn't quite so, um, defined.

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Rarely has there been a Nextel Cup race in recent memory when such varying interpretations of teamwork were on display than during last Saturday night's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

On one hand, you had Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle doing whatever they could to help Roush Fenway Racing teammate Jamie McMurray get to Victory Lane. Of course, they did this only at the very end when it was apparent that neither Edwards nor Biffle could get there, even though they each finished strong.

On the other, you had Kyle Busch's thinly-disguised (or was it even disguised at all?) disgust with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in general and top Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon in particular. He blamed them in large part for having to settle for second place behind McMurray.

Oh, and then there was the scrap early in the race between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Stewart ran into the back of Hamlin when they were running one-two just 14 laps into the 160-lap event, but Stewart vehemently blamed Hamlin for checking up too hard as they came through Turn 4.

"If he wants me to be the bigger man, I'll take the blame," Hamlin later told reporters, although it was obvious he thought the blame very well might lay with the guy driving the car who actually did the hitting -- and not the other way around.

Examining each example a little closer, Edwards clearly performed the most noble act. Running on the inside line behind then-leader Kyle Busch, he chose to take the earliest opportunity to jump into the outside line behind McMurray -- thereby decreasing his chances of finishing second, which he very well may have done if he remained on the inside and pushed Busch to victory. Edwards later admitted that he thought about trying to pass McMurray to the outside and go for the win himself, but realized that might jeopardize both of their chances.

Basically, Edwards took one for the team. Actually, he took two -- giving up potentially two spots in the end to help push teammate McMurray all the way out front.

Kyle Busch received no such assist. Though he later lamented this fact, what did he really expect? Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson did appear to help him along for a while, but Gordon, who ultimately finished fifth, was content to sit on the outside line and help McMurray (and presumably himself) for several laps instead.

After the race, Gordon complimented McMurray and conveniently "forgot" to mention Busch's fine run that fell about six inches short in a fantastic finish. Again, what did anyone expect? Only days after it was announced that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be joining Hendrick next year and that Kyle Busch was the odd driver out, it was Gordon who openly admitted that it wouldn't be long before young Kyle would have to be banned from the weekly competition meetings at his current employer.

That shot across Busch's bow was merely the calm before the storm that is now brewing at Hendrick. Gordon earlier mentioned that the "chemistry" was never really there when it came to Busch totally fitting in at HMS, and Busch countered by saying a couple weeks later that he is looking forward to driving next for a team that isn't so "two-faced."

To clarify, Busch added: "I don't need somebody or something where people will be sort of two-faced, telling you that you're great and this and that and everything else, and then go behind closed doors and tell somebody else, `Man, he's out of control. What are we doing? This, that and whatever.'

"It's just something that where you want to have the personnel behind you. You want to have the people that are backing you. You want to have sponsors who appreciate you and back you. And of course, being able to have a good relationship not just with the team owner, but with everybody in the organization."

Asked to clarify, he made it clear then that he doesn't think that is what he has now at Hendrick. Furthermore, he indicated that he was no longer sure he ever really had it.

He says these things and then expects his lame-duck teammates to push him to victory at Daytona? You didn't have to be Dr. Phil to tell him that wasn't going to be happening. But you would have to be the psychological equivalent of one of Dr. Phil's screwed-up guests not to see it for yourself without outside counseling.

Even Kyle's own brother, Kurt, chastised his younger brother for expecting Hendrick help, and then complaining about not receiving it afterward. For that matter, Kurt also reminded Kyle that in the final laps of any race, it's every man for himself when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get the checkered flag. (Continued)