Kyle Busch Must Have Fallen From The Idiot Tree

       Over the years Kyle Busch has given his fans many exciting and thrilling moments to cheer for. There is no doubting his talent to drive a car and there certainly isn’t any doubting his nerves. He obviously will do whatever is necessary to win and in his mind, there is no second place. Why does he have so many fans? It’s simple….. He is willing to squeeze his big race car into a not so big space, he loves to take a two-wide track that is already running three-wide and make it four-wide, and he has been know to drive his cup car like it is a sprint car. He is a young, action-packed, arrogant driver that brings an edge and an excitement to NASCAR that the sport hasn’t seen in a long time. Also, although he has yet to cash in a championship for his fans, he has won 37 NASCAR races since the 2007 season including the Camping World, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup Series. If you are a fan of racing and a fan of winning, then it is hard not to cheer for the guy.

       Why do so many fans of NASCAR dislike Kyle Busch? That too is a simple formula…… It’s because of all of the reasons above! People love him for a lot of the same reasons why people hate him. However, here is something else to think about….. As a fan, it can be easy to anticipate and even enjoy the recklessness of a driver because all too often we like to see that “big wreck”. We know that Kyle Busch enjoys his recklessness, but I would venture to say that there are probably 42 other drivers at most every race that Busch is in that doesn’t appreciate his recklessness as much either. By showing a complete disregard to the safety of his fellow drivers, he is also showing them no respect.

       Speaking of respect, What is my opinion? I would venture to say that the people of Gibson (guitar manufacturer) felt a little disrespected when Busch took the guitar that was given to him as a prize for winning the Nationwide race in Tennessee this weekend and repeatedly bashed it on the ground to destroy it. His desire to be a self centered renegade in the sport that he has used as a pedestal to his self-glossed greatness has actually glossed himself as a pompous ass. Of course since the incident he and his “PR” people have spun it to try and make it look like he was trying to do a good thing, when we all know that if it isn’t benefiting him, he isn’t going to do it. This PR attempt is nothing more than people trying to cover for Busch again so that they can continue to keep their jobs as his “safety net”.

Justin L. Stephens

Tony George and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

I heard a report today that came out on speedtv.com that reported that Tony George (CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway {IMS}) had been voted out of his position by a majority vote. This was originally reported by Robin Miller. Robin is (among many other things) an avid racing fan and especially a fan of the Indianapolis 500. Robin is a very animated and opinionated columnist that has been known to rub a lot of people the wrong way on many occasions. Many say that he reports the news in a way that makes himself part of the news rather than simply getting the scoop and feeding it to the public.
Honestly much of the bad things about Robin Miller that you might hear is probably true. However, he does have a very good track record when it comes to reporting truthful and factual things about the sport of racing….. Particularly open-wheeled racing.
The story that Robin Miller broke was essentially that Tony George and the rest of the IMS board had a meeting on Tuesday May 26th. This board consist of George, his mother, three of his sisters and some other individuals. This means that his own family has voted him out of his position. IMS and Tony George have denied the story and gave a statement today that says that the meeting on Tuesday was simply needed to help rethink the business plans of the Hulman-George family regarding all of their business ventures, not just IMS.
It is also important to know that only one day prior to all of these reports and denials, Robin was on a local sports talk radio show in Indianapolis (1260 AM- WNDE) with host John Michael Vincent and he was completely negative on many aspects that involve IMS and the way that this recent Indianapolis 500 was managed. Some people might speculate that the information that Robin received were not factual and were given to him under the assumption that he would report this information without waiting for all of the facts to run by his desk first.
What is my opinion? My opinion is that while Robin Miller may be an arrogant, name dropping, self absorbing individual, he is very good at uprooting top stories before they surface. I also think that the thought that these rumors would have ever been started by someone within IMS, the Indy Racing League (IRL), or the Hulman-George family is crazy. The IRL is trying to get itself established and open-wheeled racing in general simply isn’t as popular now as it used to be. The last thing that they would want is bad publicity. Although I will say that at this point I can honestly say that I have not watched the Indy500 and still talked about the race and/or IRL in general three days later like I am now. I am a strong believer in the old saying that when there is smoke there is fire. I believe that this is a move that is going to happen in due time. The Hulman-George family may be denying it right now for any number of reasons, but eventually (probably real soon) Tony George will no longer be the CEO of the IMS, or at the very least he will have many of his responsibilities taken away. Personally I think this is a great idea. Tony just gave us the worse rated 500 in his 20 year rein with no promise of anything getting any better. Plus he has also changed or thrown out most of the traditions that made the Indy 500 “The greatest spectacle in racing”.

Justin Stephens