Busting on Busch
LAS VEGAS – "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"
The Coasters bemusedly asked that question when they sang the exploits of buffoonish cartoon character Charlie Brown back in the late 1950s – and Kyle Busch is reprising it in 2006.
Busch has become NASCAR's whipping boy of the moment, the stooge du jour, if you will. It seems that if something has gone wrong on the race track this season, Busch has been the guy who's gotten much – if not all – of the blame.
Overaggressive driving? Blame Busch.
Involved in a wreck? Blame Busch.
Cocky and selfish? Blame Busch.
He even was singled out last week in Mexico for yet another malapropos, almost causing an international incident.
Older brother Kurt Busch – who's had his own share of battles – has tried to talk with the sibling he calls "Little Shrub" and show him the wrongness of his ways.
Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have done the same. Even reigning Nextel Cup champ Tony Stewart spent an hour-and-a-half counseling the younger Busch prior to the race at Fontana, Calif., two weeks ago.
Yet the finger-pointing and blame game/name calling continued Sunday when Busch – who finished third in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 here at Las Vegas – once again drew Stewart's wrath for driving like an old lady in the fast lane of the freeway.
"With 80 laps to go we're sitting there for 15 to 20 laps behind him trying to get by and he's holding us up for no reason," Stewart moaned. "There's just an etiquette. I'm frustrated with it and I honestly think I have every right to be."
This routine is becoming familiar for the 20-year-old Busch. He knows what's coming next.
"I guess I'll have to go have another chit-chat with [Stewart] to figure out what I did wrong," Busch said. "I guess we can't race each other. I don't know."
Busch is the latest in a long line of young drivers in recent years who have been cast as guys who get under other drivers' skins. No matter how hard they try, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.
We can point to folks like Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and even Stewart himself. Each of them went through a stage where they were frequently singled out as being the cause of numerous on-track incidents, be those accusations right or wrong.
Sunday race winner Johnson can particularly relate. He spent much of the last two seasons as Public Enemy No. 1 to many fans and even some of his fellow competitors. Even if Johnson was totally wrong, he was still right – in his own mind, that is.
"It's tough when the momentum is against you or for you and you can't stop that momentum," Johnson said. "I've experienced that on my own. ... It's challenging – it doesn't matter if you're Jeff Gordon, you have your challenges. Tony Stewart, myself, his brother Kurt Busch has been through a lot – when that momentum shifts, it's a tough animal and it's very hard on you."
I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson secretly is glad Busch has replaced him as one of Nextel Cup's most visible young menaces behind the wheel. But at the same time, Johnson hopes Busch realizes that if he thinks he's going to fight the entire world of NASCAR, he's waging a losing battle.
Admitting you're wrong isn't a sign of weakness.
"It builds character and I think you learn lessons through it," Johnson said. "So [with] the experience that Kyle's been going through, I think he'll be a stronger and better driver and also outside of the car, facing these problems, as his career goes on."
There's no question how talented the younger Busch is. For the most part, he drives smart. But when he makes a mistake, he sometimes tries to deflect blame rather than admitting he screwed up – though he seems to be trying to improve in that regard.
That's much the way Johnson was until he began to take greater responsibility for his actions rather than automatically trying to blame the other guy. Sure, Johnson backslides every now and then, but for the most part he's learned some valuable lessons. Owning up to misdeeds takes some of the heat off – even if a driver secretly still thinks he's right.
Busch, on the other hand, has a tendency to takes things either too lightly or too personally – just like Johnson used to. And therein lies the rub.
Admit you're wrong and you gain respect. Constantly make excuses or cast aspersions in every other direction other than your own and you're setting yourself up to be vilified.
"The race track is not only theirs, but it's mine too," Busch boldly said after Sunday's race. "That's the only thing that I'd like to try to gain a little respect on."
That's where you've got it wrong, Kyle. To gain respect, you have to give respect first.
Busch has to be a man, not a kid just out of his teen years. If he did something that drew someone else's ire, they have good reason to indict him – just like Stewart did again on Sunday
If Busch continues on this path, there will be no room for him in Nextel Cup – no matter how talented he is behind the wheel.
"I don't know if it's because I'm 20 years old and I'll accept all the blame or whatever," Busch said.
So far, Kyle, you haven't done a very good job of that. Maybe if you finally start doing so, people will stop picking on you.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR columnist. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
The Coasters bemusedly asked that question when they sang the exploits of buffoonish cartoon character Charlie Brown back in the late 1950s – and Kyle Busch is reprising it in 2006.
Busch has become NASCAR's whipping boy of the moment, the stooge du jour, if you will. It seems that if something has gone wrong on the race track this season, Busch has been the guy who's gotten much – if not all – of the blame.
Overaggressive driving? Blame Busch.
Involved in a wreck? Blame Busch.
Cocky and selfish? Blame Busch.
He even was singled out last week in Mexico for yet another malapropos, almost causing an international incident.
Older brother Kurt Busch – who's had his own share of battles – has tried to talk with the sibling he calls "Little Shrub" and show him the wrongness of his ways.
Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have done the same. Even reigning Nextel Cup champ Tony Stewart spent an hour-and-a-half counseling the younger Busch prior to the race at Fontana, Calif., two weeks ago.
Yet the finger-pointing and blame game/name calling continued Sunday when Busch – who finished third in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 here at Las Vegas – once again drew Stewart's wrath for driving like an old lady in the fast lane of the freeway.
"With 80 laps to go we're sitting there for 15 to 20 laps behind him trying to get by and he's holding us up for no reason," Stewart moaned. "There's just an etiquette. I'm frustrated with it and I honestly think I have every right to be."
This routine is becoming familiar for the 20-year-old Busch. He knows what's coming next.
"I guess I'll have to go have another chit-chat with [Stewart] to figure out what I did wrong," Busch said. "I guess we can't race each other. I don't know."
Busch is the latest in a long line of young drivers in recent years who have been cast as guys who get under other drivers' skins. No matter how hard they try, they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.
We can point to folks like Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and even Stewart himself. Each of them went through a stage where they were frequently singled out as being the cause of numerous on-track incidents, be those accusations right or wrong.
Sunday race winner Johnson can particularly relate. He spent much of the last two seasons as Public Enemy No. 1 to many fans and even some of his fellow competitors. Even if Johnson was totally wrong, he was still right – in his own mind, that is.
"It's tough when the momentum is against you or for you and you can't stop that momentum," Johnson said. "I've experienced that on my own. ... It's challenging – it doesn't matter if you're Jeff Gordon, you have your challenges. Tony Stewart, myself, his brother Kurt Busch has been through a lot – when that momentum shifts, it's a tough animal and it's very hard on you."
I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson secretly is glad Busch has replaced him as one of Nextel Cup's most visible young menaces behind the wheel. But at the same time, Johnson hopes Busch realizes that if he thinks he's going to fight the entire world of NASCAR, he's waging a losing battle.
Admitting you're wrong isn't a sign of weakness.
"It builds character and I think you learn lessons through it," Johnson said. "So [with] the experience that Kyle's been going through, I think he'll be a stronger and better driver and also outside of the car, facing these problems, as his career goes on."
There's no question how talented the younger Busch is. For the most part, he drives smart. But when he makes a mistake, he sometimes tries to deflect blame rather than admitting he screwed up – though he seems to be trying to improve in that regard.
That's much the way Johnson was until he began to take greater responsibility for his actions rather than automatically trying to blame the other guy. Sure, Johnson backslides every now and then, but for the most part he's learned some valuable lessons. Owning up to misdeeds takes some of the heat off – even if a driver secretly still thinks he's right.
Busch, on the other hand, has a tendency to takes things either too lightly or too personally – just like Johnson used to. And therein lies the rub.
Admit you're wrong and you gain respect. Constantly make excuses or cast aspersions in every other direction other than your own and you're setting yourself up to be vilified.
"The race track is not only theirs, but it's mine too," Busch boldly said after Sunday's race. "That's the only thing that I'd like to try to gain a little respect on."
That's where you've got it wrong, Kyle. To gain respect, you have to give respect first.
Busch has to be a man, not a kid just out of his teen years. If he did something that drew someone else's ire, they have good reason to indict him – just like Stewart did again on Sunday
If Busch continues on this path, there will be no room for him in Nextel Cup – no matter how talented he is behind the wheel.
"I don't know if it's because I'm 20 years old and I'll accept all the blame or whatever," Busch said.
So far, Kyle, you haven't done a very good job of that. Maybe if you finally start doing so, people will stop picking on you.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR columnist. Send Jerry a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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