Some people think Kurt Busch got what he deserved Saturday night in the Coke Zero at Daytona International Speedway.
Many a Nascar fan will remember that day…
Can’t wait until the next one. Will Busch have a chance to retaliate?
Well, it may not be that simple. Ultimately Busch himself lost that race. Is there a worse way to lose a race? Any way you look at it 2nd place is the first loser.
Whether or not Busch deserved it is a matter of opinion. I think that it just made for a better race and the results will make the next one possibly even more intense.
Busch and Tony Stewart were team-mates last year. But that camaraderie is on a short leash at this point...
Who Won?
RANK + - DRIVER POINTS
1 -- Tony Stewart 2719 Leader
2 -- Jeff Gordon 2539 -180
3 -- Jimmie Johnson 2525 -194
4 -- Kurt Busch 2414 -305
5 -- Carl Edwards 2317 -402
6 -- Denny Hamlin 2302 -417
7 -- Ryan Newman 2235 -484
8 -- Kyle Busch 2234 -485
9 -- Greg Biffle 2215 -504
10 -- Matt Kenseth 2201 -518
11 +1 Juan Montoya 2187 -532
12 +1 Kasey Kahne 2166 -553
There is sure to be a lot of controversy concerning this one. Isn't controversy good? At least Eminem thinks so.
There are two sides - those who feel Busch attempted to block Tony Stewart one too many times, or those who feel Tony Stewart charged too hard without considering Busch's safety. And there are those who just vote for the under-dog.
But would YOU consider the other driver's safety when the checkered flag is in view? Had Busch predicted Tony's actions he would have been a sure winner, if he hadn't tried to block Tony at that last stretch - he would have taken 1st place. It's just smart racing. And I believe Tony was the smarter racer. The standings confirm it.
In that split second, Busch made a serious mistake and it cost him the race.
Its easier said then done and Busch certainly gave a good fight. My kind of race! Fans will be talking about this one for a while. TV will replay it incessantly, they may even make it into a Nascar Commercial with Busch climbing out of a destroyed car after a slam into the wall a few hundred yards from the finish line. I'd hate to be there but it is not like it hasn't happened before...
It was just like the one four months earlier at the Talladega Nascar Speedway involving Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski.
With over 100,000 or so in attendance, many had booed Busch earlier, but when it was over, many of them probably felt that soft cushy part of their heart, and felt a little bad for Busch going from "Hero to Zero".
"It's just a bad situation," Stewart said. "It's not bad because we're put in a bad position. It just is what it is. I don't feel as much gratification from winning this race as I probably should, I guess, because I don't like the way the outcome happened."
Jimmie Johnson, said::
"There is nothing to do to stop it," Johnson said. "It's plate racing. We're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't.
"They're just racing. Tony didn't mean to dump him. Same thing with Talladega. It's just the product of restrictor-plate racing and every time we leave these restrictor-plate tracks, there's questions about how we can keep from having the big wreck and things like that, and you just can't. When you run plates and run wide-open all the way around the track, situations like this come around."
I'm just glad it was an exciting race. And I think that it increased Nascar Love all around. I hope the next one is just as exciting.
Charles Verhoeff
ProSurvival Net
