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Instead of Triple Crown, We Had Double Trouble
June 11, 2008
Lisa Fowler - SCR
Going into last weekend, all the talk was about Kyle Busch being the first
NASCAR driver to attempt running in all three of NASCAR's top series and Big Brown going for the triple-crown in horse
racing. There was much excitement and anticipation as the media followed both stories.
Kyle Busch started with the truck race on Friday night which took place in Texas. After practicing his Sprint Cup
car at Pocono, he flew to Texas where he started in the back due to having someone fill  in for him during practice and qualifying. He made no attempt to show any appreciation for his team, expressing throughout
the race how bad the truck was. Of course, the team had to guess on the set-up while working with another driver in the truck.
Although he finished 2nd to Ron Hornaday, he showed once again his lack of sportsmanship. Seems when he wins, the credit is
all his, when he loses, everyone else is to blame.
On Saturday, the Nationwide
Series ran in Nashville. The race took place Saturday night so Busch went back to Pocono from Texas to participate in the
Cup practice, and then back to Nashville. Again, he started in the rear of the field and seemed to be very unhappy with his
car all night. The newcomer, Joey Logano started out strong and for a time seemed to be on his way to his first win in only
his second start.
After a pit stop, Logano got mired up in traffic and in
a three-wide situation, Greg Biffle pulled into a hole that Logano needed. As usual, two cars going for the same spot, did
not work. Logano ended up spending many laps in the garage to get the car repaired. Later in the race, David Reutimann took
the lead and looked to be on his way to his second win in the series. Since I am a Direct TV customer and the broadcast went
off with 12 laps to go in the race, I had to go to the internet to see who won. I had a suspicion that it would be Brad Keselowski
since he was quickly catching and passing cars when the station went away. I bet there will be many more victory celebrations.
I like what I see in Keselowski; he is maturing and learning as both a driver and a team player.
Busch ended up 20th and later I heard that Big Brown ended up last in the Belmont Stakes.
So Saturday was not a good day for triple crowns. I hated the news about Big Brown; everyone had such high hopes going into
the race. I can't say that I felt nearly as bad for Kyle Busch. I have been waiting and expecting him to have a weekend
like this. As I have said before, in racing, what goes around comes around and every driver knows that this sport keeps you
humble.
Sunday at Pocono, the word of the day was long. It seems like everyone
agrees that this race is too long. If the track made for better racing and closer competition, you might not be so aware of
the excessive length of the race. With the new car, it made it even more difficult to pass. Although there were many lead
changes, most of them took place only during pit stops. Once someone took the lead, they could pretty well stay there until
they had to pit.
There were a few cars that ran up front most of the day.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. appeared to have a good car for most of the race. He fell back during the middle portion but came back
strong at the end. This is something that his team had needed to do, maintain the car until the end.
 Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart appeared to have good cars but both were hit with penalties for speeding on pit road. Brian Vickers
had a surprisingly good run and took home a 2nd place finish for his Red Bull team.
Kasey Kahne had a great car all day and made the right choices late in the race that gave him new tires which carried
him to the win.
Earnhardt Jr., Vickers and Jeff Gordon were the only cars
that did not have to pit for fuel late in the race. They were also on old tires which just would not allow them to hold off
the cars that pitted later for fuel and two or four new tires. Kyle Busch ended his weekend with a 43rd place finish. YES,
I SAID 43RD!!! He made a mistake, pulling up in front of Jamie McMurray and slamming the wall. After many laps in the garage,
he came back and made a few laps but it was obvious that his weekend had not turned out as he had hoped.
I still do not understand how he felt like the wreck was caused by someone other than him. He seemed
to lay the blame on his spotter. He said that the mirror was broken (could this weekend be only the beginning of 7 years of
bad luck) and that his spotter didn't tell him that McMurray was there. Problem is we all heard the spotter attempting
to tell him that the 26 was there. Before he could get the words out of his mouth, Busch made the move. Does he just think
that since he is Kyle Busch, the other drivers will stop, pull over and let him by? I do not dislike Kyle as much when he
wins as I do when he loses. His lack of sportsmanship is what I expect will lead to his downfall.
My congratulations go out to Ron Hornaday, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne. It was good to see a
veteran, a rookie and a driver and team that had a difficult year last year end up in victory lane. My sympathy goes out to
the owner, trainer and jockey for Big Brown. At least the horse didn't go to the media and badmouth the jockey. For Kyle
Busch, his running all three races, at different tracks will get him in the record books again, but I expect the memories
of the weekend will not be pleasant ones. Oh well, that is racing, you win some but you will lose many more.
Questions, Comments:
Email Lisa
The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not
necessarily that of SCR
Photo: James S. Langley
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