Kyle Busch Fallout?

(WOMR file photo)

NASCAR 101

Before I get into a deatiled discussion of the Kyle Busch/Ron Hornaday crashfest Friday night at the Texas Motor
Speedway, I would like to take you on a short refresher course in the emergence of NASCAR to the world back in February 1979.  Rather than describing the event, watch this short video of that incident which introduced the world to the “good old boy world” of NASCAR?

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXbHQtZH8dE

Now that you have had a quick historical refresher of NASCAR 101, let’s review and discuss the events of Friday night at the Texas Motor Speedway.

After reading many articles this weekend, listening to the “talking heads”, and re-watching the video regarding the Kyle Busch/Ron Hornaday Camping World Truck race crash on lap 13, there are many questions that need answering.  Likewise, there are many implications and ramifications that extend farther than just Kyle Busch and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Just a quick recap of the events of Friday night

The Kyle Busch loose-your-temper-stuff-your-competitor-head-first-into-the-retaining-wall-under-yellow-flag-conditions recap, is as follows.  Ron Hornaday and Kyle Busch were racing for second position when they encountered the slower #07 truck of Johnny Chapman, running down in the lower groove.  Hornaday got to Chapman first, moved to the right slightly to avoid hitting Chapman.  Hornaday did not quite get clear of the slower truck, however so lightly brushed Chapman’s right side.  That contact loosened up Hornaday’s truck, thereby sending Hornaday’s truck up the track slightly into Busch’s truck.  The Hornaday/Busch contact was very slight, with very limited damage to either truck.  Nevertheless, both Hornaday and Busch lightly grazed the outside retaining wall.  That incident brought out the first yellow flag of the race.

What happened under the yellow flag is what became the huge issue of Friday night!  As all the trucks were slowing to obey the yellow flag conditions, ol Kylie with a major chapped rectum, sped up, got on Hornaday’s rear bumper, mashed the accelerator to the mat.  Busch really worked the rear of Hornaday’s truck over until Busch was able to stick Hornaday, nose first, into the outside retaining wall, at about 150 MPH!

Here is the video of that event:

NOTE: Listen to Busch’s spotter pleading to him not to do what he was about to do!

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tVWHGTA2xY

As a results of this incident Friday night, NASCAR made the decision to “park” Kyle Busch for the entire weekend.  After viewing the video you could easily see that NASCAR had really no choice in their decision.  NASCAR had to regain control of a situation that quickly escalated totally out of control!

NASCAR’s parking of Kyle Busch for the weekend has far-reaching implications and ramifications that encompass more than just Kyle Busch Motorsports.  Therefore, I will try to list some of the fallout that this event has stirred up!

Kyle Busch Motorsports

How is Traxxas, Toyota, M&M’s, Dollar General Store, as well as the other associate sponsors, looking at this incident and viewing its repercussions?  What effect is this event going to have on sponsorship dollars for KBM?  What effect does Friday night have on all Kyle Busch Motorsports employees.  There is one torn up race truck that had the capability of winning the race Friday night, in fact, it is probably junk because of a lost temper of its owner/driver!

Truck Series driver relationships

After this event Friday night, it would seem logical that most of the drivers in the garage area for this racing series has taken a very negative approach to Kyle Busch.  Ol Kylie has lost quite a bit of the respect that he once had amongst the driver core.  One could say that Kyle Busch has taken on the form of cancer in the Camping World Truck garage!

Joe Gibbs Racing

Now we are getting into the real meat of the issue.  Kyle’s real paycheck comes from his “day job” at Joe Gibbs Racing!  His truck racing at his own company, Kyle Busch Motorsports, is really for the fun of racing.  Even though the Camping World Series is separate, and different from his job at JGR, they are and will be forever intertwined, as long as Busch races in this series.  As was in this case, a sanction in one series will almost always be a sanction in all series!

As I mentioned above, Kyle’s “bread and butter” comes from JGR, and because Busch is the corporate image in NASCAR  for his JGR sponsors, that event has to be explained to all who have money invested in the JGR #18 Toyota.  Therefore, by Saturday morning both Joe and J.D. Gibbs, more than likely, had set their phones on fire from all the “splainin” that the two were having to do with their sponsors!

And this breaking news

Earlier Sunday, the sponsor of Busch’s Cup team, M&M’s, posted the following statement on its Facebook page in response to comments being left by readers:

“The recent actions by Kyle Busch are not consistent with the values of M&M’s and we’re very disappointed. Like you, we hold those who represent our brand to a higher standard and we have expressed our concerns directly to Joe Gibbs Racing.”

The M&M’s response is just one of the sponsors for the JGR #18 Toyota.  In light of the M&M’s released response, one could only assume that the other sponsors, both primary and associate, of that race team are inquiring and responding to JGR in a like manner.  It is not a good time to be either Joe or J.D. Gibbs, with all the damage control that has obviously been going on this weekend.

The Camping World, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup Series

How will all three elite series drivers relate to Kyle after this latest loss of temper and overtly aggressive behavior?  It would appear that Kyle now has lost most, if not all, of the respect that he might have garnered over his racing career in these series.  There is no doubt that Kyle Busch is an extremely talented race car driver, however, the litany of bad behaviors that have come to light over his short career in NASCAR may now have him under extreme scrutiny in the foreseeable future.

Additional penalties from NASCAR

NASCAR has fined Kyle Busch $50,000 and placed him on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 for his actions during the Nov. 4 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2011 NASCAR Rule Book.  On Monday, the parking directive was lifted by NASCAR. In issuing Monday’s penalty, NASCAR went on to say that “if during the remaining NASCAR events in 2011 there is another action by the competitor that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR, or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event, the competitor will be suspended indefinitely from NASCAR.”

I am reasonably sure that there are more issues to cover relating to this past weekend’s headline event.  However, I reserve those issues to another post shortly.

What we have witnessed this weekend is that in NASCAR, just as in life, there are always wide-spread ramifications to our actions.  There are many more people affected by our decisions and choices in life than just ourselves!

What are your views on the past weekend in Texas?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!