The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is slump getting to Kyle Busch?
2015 champion needs to clean up grumpy behavior.
Kyle Busch should be a Happy Man. He is rolling along, with the fourth most points in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup standings, a reason to celebrate. Or not. Instead, he is Pouty Face. Busch has yet to win a points race despite six finishes in the top five. It’s a disappointing look for a driver who won nine times over the previous two years and captured the 2015 season championship.
Busch, a volatile sort over the years, also seems to be at war with the world.
He criticized Goodyear’s tires after crashing at Daytona to start the season. He started a brawl with Joey Logano’s crew members after a wreck in Las Vegas. He threw shade at Talladega by implying it wasn’t a real racetrack. He was dismissive of Austin Dillon’s victory at Charlotte in a video snippet that went viral in the NASCAR community.
These are not egregious offenses, but if you stitch them together they reflect badly on a man whose superb driving skills are often overshadowed by temperamental issues. Take the Charlotte example, where he could not pass Dillon in the closing laps.
He was asked in a postrace news conference to put Dillon’s victory in perspective.
“I’m not surprised about anything,” Busch said. “Congratulations.”
And then he dropped the microphone. No more questions. Sore loser.
“There are some really funny bounces in life, especially in this motorsports world,” Brad Keselowski, a frequent antagonist with Busch, said of Busch’s postrace behavior. “But your desire to win is not connected to how angry you get.
“That’s one way of expressing it, but it’s not the only way to win. So when people go out and write articles or the media comes out and says that’s a reflection of him having the most desire to win makes me want to throw up. Not only is that a terrible message to send to anyone who’s aspiring to be a part of the sport, it’s a terrible message to send to anybody in general in this world — that it’s a reflection of your desire to win.”
Busch has a chance for a reset Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. He has a chance to send another message by winning — or at least by not coming across as an ungracious loser.
Junior’s puppies
The NASCAR Nation is famous — and sometimes notorious — for giving stars unusual parting gifts. Just ask Jeff Gordon about the two ponies he got from Texas Motor Speedway a few years back.
The folks at Sonoma Raceway also dipped into the animal category last weekend when saying adios to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup competition after this season.
Who doesn’t love puppies? He received three Labrador retrievers — named Dale, Amy and Junior with a nod to his wife — to be trained as service dogs on Earnhardt’s behalf. They will work with kids who have disabilities.
“I think it’s a great thing that the track did,” Earnhardt said. “Amy is going to love this idea and she is going to be a little sad she wasn’t here to see the dogs today, but it’s nice to know that these types of things are happening and you guys are making a difference in people’s lives.”
The track collaborated with Paws As Loving Support Assistance Dogs, a group out of Forestville, Calif. The nonprofit is dedicated to enhancing the human/animal bond by providing specially trained dogs to help children with disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome and mobility impairments.