Saturday’s Nationwide
Series race in Nashville, TN was proof, once again that
the fastest car doesn't always come home with the trophy and that sometimes slow and steady pays off. We often here the drivers
say that they had the car that should have won but for one reason or another they do not get the win.
During pre-race interviews,
Kyle Busch proclaimed that he didn't need to lead every lap, just the last one. I thought to myself, "Yeah right!' I
wondered how long he would hold that thought once the green flag dropped. I bet it would be a real adventure to take a few
laps around Busch’s mind during a race.
As has been the case
in many races this season, Kyle started from the pole position and jumped out to a sizeable lead. As a viewer, you settle
in and think that we could be in for a boring race since it appeared that no one really had anything for him.
Several laps in, Clint
Bowyer's number 2 car came to life and he pulled ahead of Busch without much trouble. So now it looked like a two car
race as no one else in the field seemed to really be able to keep up with Bowyer and Busch. The two of them traded the
lead back and forth a few times and the announcers even pointed out that it appeared that Busch might be playing with Bowyer
and the rest of the cars just to make it more interesting.
You find yourself, like
it or not, thinking that this young man, still only 22, is really something special. He no doubt has incredible skill,
unbelievable car control, and at times, he even seems to be maturing as a person. All the while, I keep thinking about
his pre-race comments. He seemed to be indicating that he understood that he had to be there at the end in order to get the
win.
How quickly things can
change... After leading most of the laps and showing that he could pass, fall back and take the lead again, Busch suddenly
and without any help, loses control and hits the wall. He narrowly missed taking Bowyer out with him. At that moment,
I felt so sorry for his crew. I can only imagine how his crew chief must feel when he sees the race, that should have
been theirs, thrown away in the blink of an eye.
The crew got Busch back
out although he was now nearly two laps down to the leader. It appeared that the race win would fall to Clint Bowyer. Still
Busch had other tricks up his sleeve. He did something at this point that reminded me of his age and immaturity.
He held Bowyer up trying to keep from going another lap down. This allowed Scott Wimmer, driving the No. 29 for Richard
Childress Racing (RCR), to catch up to Bowyer. Then Busch got in between Bowyer and Wimmer and made it look like he was not
going to allow the two of them to race for the win. He made some kind of remark about not wanting to let cars pass so
that he could be in a better position to make up ground if a caution came out.
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To me, this only showed
that he thinks that he is the only driver on the track that matters. He shows no respect for the other drivers. That
is my problem with him. No matter the skill, talent, opportunity, he comes across as being an immature, selfish child.
Fortunately, things turned out well in spite of his attempts to create havoc.
The race was won by a
driver who is the polar opposite of Kyle Busch, Scott Wimmer. Wimmer may very well be one of the most underrated and
unappreciated of all the drivers in the sport today. He has spent the last several seasons running a few Nationwide races
but more importantly testing in the new car for Richard Childress Racing. He is never the one in the spotlight. He
takes the back seat and seems to really be comfortable in his role of assisting Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton
to find success.
He ran his own race. He was in position all day to take advantage of the opportunity
if and when it came. He was the tortoise running the race against not just one hare but two. In the end, he proved
that slow and steady wins the race, the fastest car doesn't always win and that patience pays off. All of those sayings
were proven by this humble man. As he raised that beautiful guitar, the trophy given to the winner at Nashville, I hope he basked in
the glory of his moment in the sun… Congratulations Scott.
2006 StockCar Review.
