Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
I want to offer this advice to Kurt Busch. This was taken from Robert Fulghum’s 1988 essay, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten". It may hold all the advice one needs to be successful in NASCAR as well.
Fulghum’s essay may be too simplistic but this seems to be what Kurt Busch needs at this point to ensure that Michigan International Speedway is not his final Sprint Cup race of 2012.
Kurt Busch is coming off a 10 day suspension from NASCAR for comments he made to Bob Pockrass, NASCAR writer for Sporting News.
Busch’s future as a driver has been in question when his owner, James Finch, indicated he needed to meet with Busch to determine if they had a future together in NASCAR.
Finch hired Busch in December, 2011 after Busch left his previous ride with Penske Racing. In an interview shortly after hiring Busch, Finch was very clear about what Busch needed to do to ensure his success.
"He lost a job and he's lost several million dollars, and so I think that's been a wake-up call. I told him it's about winning racing. You need to watch your temper and your mouth. I hired him for his foot and not his mouth. Hopefully we can get him controlled. He's got a long way to come. He's got to show people he's going to be a driver. And show NASCAR he's a driver, and he's going to do what's expected as a driver."
On Tuesday, Finch reaffirmed his backing of Busch but with a strong warning to Busch that indicated Finch may be running out of patience for Busch.
Finch explained the situation clearly. "You race on the weekend, you make good money and you look back in the back of the shop, and a guy works all year for what you make in a weekend – but he seems to be happy. So I don't know why you're not happy, and if you're not happy, then you need to get happy. Because that's life."
James Finch spoke on SIRRIUSXM Sports Tuesday. “I’m going forward with him because I believe in him. All my friends told me to get rid of him.”
When asked what advice he gave to Busch for the race at MIS this weekend, Finch responded that he told Busch, “If you’ve got a problem say ‘no problem’. Don’t let the media trick you into saying something bad. It’s all about being grown up and going through life.”
All about being grown-up-that’s what we learn in kindergarten. We learned how to get along in a world outside of our home- a world where we are not anything more special than the thirty other kindergarten students in our classroom.
These lessons from All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten were talking about living in a classroom and life in general, but let’s apply them to Busch’s life in NASCAR.
- Play fair whether on the track or on pit road
- Don't hit people on purpose
- Clean up your own mess and take responsibility for your attitude
- Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody whether with your racing or with your words
These simple steps will help to ensure that we see Busch throughout the entire 2012 NASCAR schedule. I’m looking forward to seeing Kurt Busch return to NASCAR this weekend at Michigan International Speedway and being part of a great show. But we want to see this talented driver pull it together and continue to show us the great talent he has on the racetrack.
You can follow me at Twitter @nascarfaithful
You can contact Brenda Benedict at .. Insider Racing News
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