Saturday, June 4, 2011

Ask the Crew Chief



What do I, Ashley Schindler, think about the Kyle Busch and Joey Coulter incident?

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion…and this is my opinion.  If you don’t like it, I’m very sorry, but there actually is some fact in this post.

It all started one cloudy afternoon at Kansas Speedway, Clint Bowyer is leading and there are two laps to go.  Kyle Busch is fifth and Joey Coulter is sixth; they were racing for the fifth position.  Kyle, in the No. 18, didn’t like how Joey, in the No. 22, was racing him on the final laps and that Joey passed him when he had the chance to.  During the cool down lap, he got into the side of Joey’s truck, causing him to get sideways.
 
Now, for my humble opinion – which is based on fact; Kyle is only racing for Owner’s Points, not Championship Points.  For Championship Points, at the beginning of the year, he elected to run for the Championship in the Cup Series.  On the flip side of this coin, Joey Coulter, a rookie, is racing for Championship Points and Owner’s Points for Richard Childress Racing.  In reality, under the new point system, they were only racing for one point.  Keep in mind that Kyle is still under probation for his incident a few weeks back with Kevin Harvick on Pit Road.  Do I think Kyle should’ve got into the side of Joey Coulter’s truck? No, simply because A) the race was over and B) he wasn’t racing for points, or the win for that matter.

I know you were probably thinking I was going to talk about the Richard Childress/Kyle Busch physical altercation, but I’m not going to.  I’ll keep my opinions to myself about that one.  

As always, thanks for reading!


7 comments:

  1. Nice points. Both of the Busch brothers have a history of letting their tempers get the best of them. I don't have a problem with a guy letting another driver know they didn't appreciate something but when someone acts that way all of the time it's not the same and they become a bully on the track. At that point they just need to become aware someone might decide to tell them enough is enough.

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  2. Seems that when someone races Kyle the way he races others, he just can't take it. I would think Kyle would have more sense than to bump Joey's truck on pit road since he is on probation for an altercation on pit road at Darlington. Kyle is not the great racer that people like the Waltrip brothers think he is.

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  3. This link sums up my feelings on Kyle Busch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxaBqtqYpH0&feature=related

    Nobody should get into anyone on the cool down lap or in the pit after a race. Busch lacks maturity. Its time that he grows up.

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  4. Ashley, I totally agree with you. Kyle would have done the exact same thing that Joey did in a cup race. Everyone then would have commented on how cleanly Kyle made the pass! He is just used to getting his way and doesn't handle having a bad day very well. As far as the fight goes, there were no guns or knives, nobody got seriously injured. It was just an old guy teaching a cocky young kid a lesson that he hasn't learned yet. Just the opinion of another old guy.

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  5. The entire NASCAR fan world is hoping "Granpa Childress" gave Kyle an education and hopefully a few Black Eyes.......I know the fans are dying to know the facts, sounds like old school Saturday Night class was in session.
    I will be sending a cash Donation to Mr. Grandpa Childress charity!
    Love to see another lesson or the live footage from the incident;Everyone would-Maybe Pay Per View for Charity.
    a
    A loyal NASCAR Modified Fan for 40+years
    Paul

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  6. Boys Have At It is a track-related concept. If a driver does anything that another driver deems deserving of a pay back, its fine ON THE TRACK. If its for positions & points, or not. You can't draw the line there because if a driver is a lap down, this does not give lead lap drivers the green light to knock them out of the way.

    Racing is racing, and it starts on the pace lap before the green and ends before you get to pit road after the checkers. You earn respect and demand respect with no disregard as to what position a driver is holding because a lucky dog or wave-around could change a driver's potential to gain positions in THAT race and that respect transfers into the following races as well.

    That said, and the way I see it, if you turn me or slam me unfairly going to the checkers for the win, I will make a statement right then and there, and you'd be doing donuts with banged up fenders and my point will be understood. Afterwards, a visit to the garage to inflict bodily harm in return for me hitting a car which does not cause physical injury is regarded as assault and is not covered in 'Boys Have At It'.

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  7. Had to repost on my wall, well stated and as for the RC and KB issue, thanks for not going into that, I have my own opinions about that issue....And may I make a suggestion, as a writer, never appologize for your opinions..everyone knows that is what it is, and there will be people who don't agree with a thing you say, and some will totally agree and then there are those who are on the fence. As I learned in Broadcasting School, never appologize for your errors, in return never appologize for how you feel... You're a good writer and I would love to see you keep it up and do this for a living... Kim

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