Brutally honest, Bowyer busting at seams for win (cont'd)

Question of the Week

Following the race last weekend I did have one particular "stop everything you're doing and listen up" moment in the post-race news conference. After allegedly getting blown off by teammate Jeff Gordon when he walked down pit road to congratulate him, Kyle Busch had this to say:

"I'm the outsider looking in now, and I'm probably not going to be invited into the team meetings next week, so I think bliss is over at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Busch. We'll get ready for 2008." (Listen to audio)

Wow! Kyle Busch takes even the great Jeff Gordon to task. Does nothing scare him? The guy has more confidence than Scooter Libby at his sentencing.

My question is this:

What is the best way for Kyle Busch and HMS to go forward with the rest of their season?

I'm putting this to you, because after the above statement I have no idea what they should do. What happens if Kyle starts wrecking HMS cars mid-race? Or, what about the potential for the year's most awkward moment -- what happens if somehow Kyle drives the 5 car to the championship this year?

Chat Room Chatter

The chat room got off on a comical tangent this week when the jokes started pouring in following Tony Stewart's post-wreck comments publicly blaming his own teammate Denny Hamlin in Daytona last weekend.

What follows are the best from the "Tony would blame ..." files:

Tony would blame a lightning bolt if it hit him.
-- Bill from Litchfield, Ill.

Tony would blame the track for jumping up and making him loose.
-- Martin from Bryan, Texas

Tony would blame the brewmaster if he spilled his beer.
-- Wayne from San Diego, Calif.

Tony would blame the finish line for not crossing him first.
-- Kevin from Fort Worth, Texas

Tony would blame the wall for not moving.
-- Kalin from Daytona, Fla.

Tony would blame the blimp for taking the air off his spoiler.
-- Peter from East Windsor, N.J.

Tony would blame NASCAR for letting all those other cars on the track.
-- Rod from Nevada

I could have added hundreds more, but I don't want to be the subject of a manhunt from our editorial staff here at NASCAR.COM.

Finally, I'm traveling overseas this week so I'll try to provide some perspective on how NASCAR is perceived in other parts of the world in the column to follow. As for my pick, I'm going with the guy who is busting at the seams to get a win -- Athena Barber's boyfriend -- Clint Bowyer.

Enjoy the race!

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.