August 29, 2010
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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I find it ironic that fans who have complained vocally over the adulation of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in the media and in public because “This is about racing, not about personality” are now crying foul when their driver isn’t treated the same way.
I am talking about the fans of Kyle Busch, and the complaining I have heard all week about how fans haven’t been chanting “All Hail Kyle” in the streets and in the media after he completed the weekend sweep in Bristol a week ago.
I heard someone on the radio this morning call in to complain that the hosts on the radio network hadn’t spent all week raving about what a great driver Kyle is because of his accomplishment. “They were still complaining about him wreckin’ people” was the complaint from the fan.
Perhaps that is because in the drive to win three races in one weekend, at least two drivers fell victim to the bumper of the man behind the wheel of the 18. And it wasn’t just to move them out of the way; it was to flat out wreck them out of the way.
I received an e-mail from someone this week in regards to my column last weekend saying “two wrongs didn’t make a right” when it came to Kyle’s reasoning behind wrecking Brad Keselowski to win the Cup race Saturday night.
“I wonder, Ms. Roberson, if you are such a newbie that you never saw Dale Earnhardt Sr. race?”
Actually, I AM such a newbie that I never saw Senior race live.
“Earnhardt Sr. dumped people simply because they were in his way -- no payback, no moral issues like ‘do two wrongs make a right?’ He would have called that comment silly.”
So, just because Earnhardt Sr. did it, it has to be OK? And how do you know he would have called it silly?
Actually, this comparison between Kyle's style of racing and Earnhardt Sr.'s style of racing has been discussed a lot this week, and one thing that was unanimous is that Senior never once came out and said “Yeah, I dumped him. So what. He deserved it.” He said “I didn’t mean to wreck him, I just wanted to rattle his cage” or the like.
And you know what? Earnhardt Sr. was talented enough to move someone out of the way without having to wreck them in the process. (I have studied up on the sport since I became a fan, and have watched plenty of old races. Just because I didn’t watch them live doesn’t mean I haven’t seen them.)
“God created bumpers and -- bumpers were made for bumping!” is a quote from Earnhardt himself. Note he didn’t say they were made for wrecking someone.
Here is a great story from Randy LaJoie on racing against Earnhardt Sr. at Dover in a Busch Series race. LaJoie was a lap down, and racing directly behind Senior trying to get back on the lead lap:
“They didn't have the 'Lucky Dog' then, so finally I said 'I'm gonna pass (Earnhardt Sr.)’
“So I tightened up the belts a little more and I ran down in there and I told myself not to lift, and I didn't and I skated up the track about a foot, kinda got into his door and he got back into me and I drove off.
“I think I ended up finishing seventh. So after the race (I crossed paths with Earnhardt Sr.) I said 'Oh, he's gonna kick my a--.' But he put his arm around me and said, 'Now, that's the way you pass somebody.'“
In my opinion, Kyle has yet to reach a place where he can be compared to Earnhardt Sr. in any way. He has no Championships. He has little respect from his peers. He has a reputation for being a petulant child when things don’t go his way. THIS is why when he completes a feat like he did last weekend where he sets a record that no one else has set, he doesn’t receive the bragging and boasting that his fans feel he deserves. He has too much other baggage that goes along with it. He wrecked a driver from a small team who just happened to be in his way early in a race and he wanted her out of his way. He wrecked a driver he felt had gotten him loose in the final laps of a race he wanted to win so he could have that record of three wins in a weekend. He didn’t apologize for wrecking them. He boasted about it.
Richard Petty didn’t wreck his way to seven Championships. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon haven’t wrecked their way to four. Even Dale Earnhardt Sr. didn’t wreck his way to all seven of his titles.
“You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones.” Earnhardt’s observation would be true if there weren’t so many bad moments in Kyle’s history to spoil the good ones.
You don’t have to be a nice guy to be a great driver, but you also don’t have to be a jerk to win a race -- or a Championship. And just because you win races doesn’t make you a great driver if you win them by wrecking those in your way.
“Finishing races is important, but racing is more important.” Racing -- not wrecking.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. couldn’t have been more right.
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