Earnhardt Jr and Busch Mix It Up – Busch Loses Battle

Driver — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:07:55 +0000

By: Keith Bloemendaal

When Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got together on May 3rd, 2008 in Richmond on a Saturday night, I had a feeling that the incident was not to be forgotten. It was difficult to place blame if you watched the replay over and over (I did since I have a DVR), but simply put, Kyle Busch is wreckless, and drove into the corner to hard. Then as I watched the Kyle Busch / Dale Earnhardt Jr. wreck in slow motion, Kyle Busch was turning right! That's right, Kyle Busch was turning right up into Dale Jr! I could not tell if Kyle got loose and was correcting that, or if he was being his typical wreck anybody to get a win self that he is. If I had to guess, it would be the latter.

At the conclusion of the race, Dale Jr. gave his opinion of the younger, immature Kyle Busch and responded in a classy way. I often wonder if he is really the son of the great Dale Earnhardt Sr. because Dale Sr would said it like it was, the wreck was no accident. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a classier act than his late father The Intimidator was. Dale Sr. was one of the best to ever race the NASCAR series, and I was in the Infield at Daytona when he passed. But, Dale Jr. outranks his father in class.

Fast forward to September 7th, 2008 and the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. I had it in the back of my mind, could there be any payback from Dale Jr. if Kyle Busch got close enough? No way, I thought, Dale Earnhardt Jr is too classy for that. It would be like stooping to Kyle's level of being a wreckless, immature, crybaby driver.

Was I wrong? Dale Jr and Kyle Busch get together on the track, the result is Kyle Busch getting spun out and Dale Jr passing him by. The crowd went CRAZY! They were cheering Dale Jr for knocking NASCAR's biggest baby out of the race.

Upon further review with my remote and my trusty DVR, it was obvious that Dale Earnhardt Jr was smoking the front tires trying to avoid Kyle Busch as Busch came down into Jr. Of course, there were others in the room with me who had a different opinion of what happened.

I will stick to my assessment of the accident, and call it that, an accident.

What do you think? Was it Dale Jr payback, or another case of Kyle Busch being wreckless? Leave a comment to let us know your opinion.

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Tony Stewart Trashes Home Depot Team Concluding Race at Richmond!

Driver — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:36:26 +0000

By: Keith Bloemendaal

Tony Stewart is well known for having anger issues on and off the track. Concluding the end of the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Tony lashed out at his team for causing him to lose the race. "Nice job guys, you gave another one away!", were the words all of us watching the race on ESPN heard. "We win together, and we lose together" is what Stewart heard back over the race radio from his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli.

Stewart's Home Depot team didn't necessarily lose the race for him, but failed to get him out in front of Jimmie Johnson on the final pit stop. Tony Stewart pulled onto the pits in 1st, came out in 2nd, and could not get by Jimmie Johnson for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 win.

Track position at Richmond for the end of the race proved to be how the race was won. As Tony Stewart caught Jimmie Johnson, it proved to be a battle of sponsors with the Lowes Chevrolet leading and the Home Depot Toyota trailing close behind. Tony got under Jimmie Johnson but couldn't seem to make the pass, and the result was Tony Stewart blaming his crew for the loss.

I am sure there are many drivers who take losses out on the crew, especially when the crew consistently makes mistakes, but the Home Depot crew is one that usually does a great job for Tony Stewart.

Since Stewart will be driving for his own team next year with Darian Grubb announced this week as his new crew chief for the #14 Chevrolet, I hope he can lead the team with the same "win together, lose together" mindset that his current crew chief has.

Maybe, Tony should remember that this is a team sport, and the words from crew chief Greg Zipadelli should be taken seriously.

What do you think, was Tony out of line when he blamed the crew for the loss?