MRM
Team Owner
Isn't it odd that with all the talk from the race at Watkins Glen and even back to Pocono there isn't one thread about Kyle Busch?!? Guess that will change next weekend.
Isn't it odd?
- Thread starter MRM
- Start date
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
Are you missing them? I thought he was very classy this week. In fact, I tweeted him and told him so.
Great post race interview. It's gotta be rough losing to a gimp 2 week's in a row, but you handled it well. Cheers!
I am now blocked for the first time. lol
Great post race interview. It's gotta be rough losing to a gimp 2 week's in a row, but you handled it well. Cheers!
I am now blocked for the first time. lol
N
nascage
Guest
Give it time. It's in our near future.
I thought Kyle did an excellent job in the post-race interview. Honestly admitted he knew what not to do and did it anyway.
D
DJ Rossi
Guest
Thankyou Richard Childress!!
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
August 16, 2011 11:26 AM, EDT
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Heading for Turn 1 in a green-white-checkered finish at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Busch knew he couldn't drive into the corner too fast. But he could only rein himself in so much.
Busch was dominant for much of Monday's rain-postponed Sprint Cup race on the road course, leading 49 laps -- more than double that of any other driver in the event. And he held that lead into the final restart, until he came into Watkins Glen's chaotic first turn a little too hot, got pushed out a little too wide, and slid backward before regrouping to salvage third place.
"I just knew exactly what not to do, and did it anyway," said Busch, who narrowly missed his fourth victory of the year. "I just got in there and didn't think I got in there too fast, but the car just didn't slow down the way I needed it to, and then it didn't turn the way I needed it to. I saw sprinkles on the windshield, but everybody else made it fine through there. I just screwed up. I can't say enough about these guys. They gave me a great car, gave me a great piece [Monday]. We were one of the best."
For long stretches of Monday's race, they certainly were. Busch started on the pole, and although he lost the lead on the opening lap, he eventually built an eight-second advantage on the field thanks in part to a two-stop fuel strategy that had the No. 18 on the track longer than much of the competition during its initial fuel run. Busch paced another 23 laps very late in the race, until Paul Menard crashed to bring out a caution with three circuits remaining in regulation to set up a green-white-checkered finish.
"I felt like we were right there, and had a shot to win," Busch said. "I hated to see that last caution. I knew it was going to come down to one corner, and I messed it up."
It wasn't all in vain -- the effort was enough for Busch to take the points lead in a race-victory tiebreak on Carl Edwards. Monday, though, his undoing was the final restart, which extended the scheduled race distance by two laps. He entered Turn 1 too fast, smoked his brakes trying to slow down, and carried so much momentum he slid over the rumble strip and into the asphalt apron area. Suddenly it was three-wide at the point, with Busch on the outside of Brad Keselowski and eventual winner Marcos Ambrose, and quickly running out of room. Busch tried to squeeze his way back in, bounced off Ambrose, and fell back to fourth after his right-side tires got in the grass. For a driver generally regarded as the best restart artist in the business, it was a rare and costly mistake.
"You're just preparing for the restart, and trying to make sure you get your tires warmed up, your brakes warmed up," Busch said. "But there's only one corner you've got to make, and as soon as you make it through that corner and can keep everything behind you it'll be smooth sailing from there, and didn't do it. Screwed up first chance I got. I just got down into Turn 1, didn't stop the way I needed to, and the wheel didn't turn the way I expected it to and over slid the corner. Got too far out to the outside, and by then everybody was just on my inside. So screwed up, and gave one away. Gave another one away."
Busch was also leading at the final restart last week at Pocono Raceway, where Keselowski ultimately prevailed. Monday at Watkins Glen, No. 18 crew chief Dave Rogers said his driver was at something of a disadvantage because they had set up their car to be less powerful but able to finish the race in only two pit stops. Ambrose used a three-stop strategy, Rogers added, so his team was able to give their car a little more oomph.
"We gave up a little power. They didn't, they went full power, they made three stops, so they were certainly faster than us," Rogers said. "... Kyle knew our strategy, and knew [Ambrose's] strategy, so he knew we were giving up power intentionally. Kyle did a phenomenal job of holding them off. But when you're leading coming to the last restart, you think you have a shot at winning. It's just naturally disappointing when you don't. But [Ambrose] had a better car than us."
The two-stop strategy, though, helped Busch maintain track position for the entire race, and the No. 18 car only got faster as the event wore on. Still, the end result was a frustrating one for a team that was forced to seek a silver lining for the second consecutive week.
"This is part of the process," Rogers said. "We want to be a championship contender, and at the banquet [last year] a lot of our competitors called us the field entertainer, and I took that really personal. I want to be called the winning race team, and to be there, you've got to go through some tough lessons like [Monday]. It's tough to swallow right now, but I guarantee when we go back and think about it Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll learn some lessons that will make us a better race team in the future. It's disappointing, but I know there's a lesson in it somewhere."
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
That was the best post race interview he's ever given. I guess you really can beat sense in to a guy, LOL.
They had a piece on ESPN during the washout show about Kyle working to improve himself as a person and making efforts to mature and not be like his brother. I'd like to see it happen, Kyle's a good driver, but his immaturity has cost him a lot, even cost him a Chase berth in 2009.
In the piece, he talked about how he enjoyed being the bad guy and how he thought everyone loved that. He said Bristol was a wake up call, when Brad Keselowski came out and said "Kyle Busch is an ass" and everyone cheered... said that really changed his outlook.
ESPN has had a lot of good pieces this year.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
For MRM
A Kyle Busch thread.Ask and you shall recieve.
A Kyle Busch thread.Ask and you shall recieve.
Tennessee Racing
Formerly Stewart Fan
Yeah I was proud of Kyle for acting like an adult.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Even still, Kyle seems like one of the guys you want to wait a few minutes to interview instead of shoving a microphone in his face right after a loss. Stewart's the same way. Hell, used to be a time where, if someone interviewed Tony after the race, he's shove the microphone up their ass.
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
When Jeff Gluck, who uses a decible meter to measure crowd noise, posted that the crowd reaction at Bristol was the loudest ever recorded, I wondered if it would be a wakup call for Kyle, and this confirms it. He started acting differently the very next race, and put and end to the whole fake crying to taunt the crowd routine, which is what Brad was talking about with the ass comment.
I'm really glad to see him on the right track. He's a huge talent and should be enjoying it more.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Kyle needs to be more humble, again something he's working on. He's got more than most people will ever have, yet he acts like a complete ass (especially to the fans that he'd be nothing without).
There's a crowd that may never like Kyle, and there's a crowd that will love him no matter what he does. But, I mean, look what happened with Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon and even Tony Stewart. These guys were loathed and detested in their early days. DW was Jaws, Rusty turned Jaws in to St. Darrell, Rusty manned up and gave a deep down speech ahead of the 1994 Daytona 500 that earned him a lot of respect, and Tony's not as big an ass anymore.
It'll take some time, but if Kyle keeps working at it, he might change a lot of opinions. He's still young, he's got time to turn around unlike his a**hole brother.
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
Yep. He's doing real good so far. My money was on a another mid-summer meltdown for the 'new' Kyle. I'm happy to be wrong...so far. He really dislikes Brad to the point of not speaking his name, so losing to him is a real test.
Hated Kurt when he showed up, but now I just don't like him. Maybe Brad can help fix him too.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
Yep. He's doing real good so far. My money was on a another mid-summer meltdown for the 'new' Kyle. I'm happy to be wrong...so far. He really dislikes Brad to the point of not speaking his name, so losing to him is a real test.
Hated Kurt when he showed up, but now I just don't like him. Maybe Brad can help fix him too.
Brad's come around a lot as well. Used to detest him, but he's matured a lot. I really respect his love for this country as well. I remember after 9/11, everyone flew the American flag after a win or anything and always praised the troops. In fact, I was seriously offended when Junyer won a Nationwide race on the 4th of July and he brought out some pirate flag. Now, doesn't seem anyone does that or talks about love for country or military of anything.
The only time anyone says they love America is when they're trying to attack someone they disagree with, but that's for another thread.
FenderBumper
The "good old days" ??
Brad's CFF foundation is doing a lot to support our troops and emergency responders.
He was brash, but I loved him for it. How can you not like a guy who forced Denny Hamlin to respect NW regulars when he comes down to "play"?
I though his Christmas card to Denny was hilarious.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
These feuds are so much better with Twitter and Facebook.
I loved Will Power's tweet to Dario Franchitti: "Hey princess, thanks for that nice tap today. Appreciate it."
R
robbybee
Guest
When Kyle drove for Hendrick, he was really immature and stories were told of how he and his brother were a-holes even back in their high school days. They were spoiled brats who thought that their shee-it didn't stink.
My buddy and I gave him the nickname Pee Wee - because he does look more like the Pee Wee Herman doll than Paul Rubins does. (See my avitar).
Since he moved to JGR he has gotten better about dealing with everything to do with being in the public eye. I am sure that Coach Gibbs, who has had a lot of experience dealing with self-absorbed athletes in his day, played a role in his maturation process. So has getting married. His wife don't take no crap from him! lol
The single biggest factor, IMO, was when he started Kyle Busch Motorsports. He had to realize right away that sponsors are reluctant to give money to a-holes, even if they are winning a-holes.
I have always appreciated his skill and ability and I have been a strong supporter of The Wee for several years now. I think he has an excellent chance to unseat JJ as CUP Champion in 2011.
GO PEE WEE !!
http://www.racing-forums.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=3510&stc=1&d=1313617011
My buddy and I gave him the nickname Pee Wee - because he does look more like the Pee Wee Herman doll than Paul Rubins does. (See my avitar).
Since he moved to JGR he has gotten better about dealing with everything to do with being in the public eye. I am sure that Coach Gibbs, who has had a lot of experience dealing with self-absorbed athletes in his day, played a role in his maturation process. So has getting married. His wife don't take no crap from him! lol
The single biggest factor, IMO, was when he started Kyle Busch Motorsports. He had to realize right away that sponsors are reluctant to give money to a-holes, even if they are winning a-holes.
I have always appreciated his skill and ability and I have been a strong supporter of The Wee for several years now. I think he has an excellent chance to unseat JJ as CUP Champion in 2011.
GO PEE WEE !!
http://www.racing-forums.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=3510&stc=1&d=1313617011
