It’s time for Kyle Busch to think before he acts

It’s time for Kyle Busch to think before he acts

 

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

 

(November 6, 2011)

 

FORT WORTH, Texas—Kyle Busch apologized—again.

 

Apologies are nothing to Busch, 26, who apologized profusely after being clocked at 128 mph in a 45 mph zone in Mooresville, N.C., earlier this year.

 

Busch issued another apology Saturday night, doing a mea culpa for wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350K Camping World Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway.

 

The incident, which knocked Hornaday out of contention for the series championship, cost Busch dearly. After meeting with the driver, Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs and president J.D. Gibbs on Saturday morning, NASCAR parked Busch for the remainder of the weekend, idling him for Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

 

At 9 p.m. ET Saturday, PR representation from Kyle Busch Motorsports distributed via e-mail an apology from Busch under the introductory paragraph: “The following is a letter written by Kyle Busch to his fans, sponsors, teammates, competitors and fellow members of the racing community.”

 

The text of the letter is as follows:

 

“To all,

 

I've had a lot of time today to sit and reflect, and try to put my thoughts into words as best I can.

 

I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during Friday night's Truck Series race at Texas.

 

I apologize to my fans, all my sponsors, everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

 

After talking with my team, it's great to have their support and encouragement to assure me that there are better days ahead. Even though this took place while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, I am sorry for how difficult this has been for everyone associated with Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series teams.

 

I'd also like to apologize to Ron Hornaday Jr., and everyone associated with the No. 33 team in the Truck Series.

 

I understand why I was taken out of the car for the rest of the weekend. NASCAR officials had to act, and I accept their punishment and take full responsibility for my actions.

 

As a racecar driver, the hardest thing to do is to sit on the sidelines listening to cars on the track when you know you should be out there competing. For this, I have no one to blame but myself.

 

Through a lot of support from the people around me, I feel like I've made a lot of strides this year, but this was certainly a step backward. Moving forward, I will do everything I possibly can to represent everyone involved in a positive manner. However, I know my long-term actions will have more of a bearing than anything I say right now.

 

Sincerely,

 

Kyle Busch”

 

In the immediate aftermath of the wreck, however, Busch was not as contrite.

 

“I’ve been wrecked four weeks in a row, and finally I just had enough of it,” Busch said Friday night, after NASCAR parked him for the remainder of the race. “I’m sorry it was Ron Hornaday. He’s going for a championship, but the fact of the matter is you can’t place all the blame on one person. There was two people that got into it to begin with, and there was two people that ended it.”

 

The gravity of the situation soon began to sink in. A three-minute meeting in the NASCAR transporter after the race involved little more than telling Busch to report to the hauler before practice on Saturday morning. Joe Gibbs rearranged his travel plans to attend the meeting.

 

Fearing the worst, JGR began to make contingency plans, putting substitute drivers Denny Hamlin (Nationwide) and Michael McDowell (Cup) on standby in case Busch was parked. At the Saturday meeting, NASCAR officials informed Busch and JGR that Busch was out of both cars for the weekend.

 

Those penalties may not end the matter. Parking Busch for the weekend falls under NASCAR’s discretion as a race procedure. A review of the events could produce additional penalties. There have been rumblings in the garage that JGR may consider parking Busch for the rest of the season.

 

A posting on the Facebook page of M&M’s U.S.A. had ominous overtones:

 

“The recent actions by Kyle Busch are not consistent with the values of M&M's and we're very disappointed. Like you, we hold those who represent our brand to a higher standard and we have expressed our concerns directly to Joe Gibbs Racing.”

 

Principals of Mars, Inc., M&M’s parent company, have been put off by Busch’s behavior in the past, and it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility for this latest mistake to cost Busch his primary sponsor.

 

Make no mistake. Busch may be the most talented wheel man in NASCAR racing today. Since 2003, he has accumulated 104 victories across NASCAR’s top three touring series. In 2011, he took the career lead in Nationwide Series victories from Mark Martin.

 

With the founding of his own truck series team, Busch has given back to the sport that has made him a star.

 

As Busch noted in his apology, he has made strides recently in the way he has handled adversity. The loss of control in the truck race, however, was more than a step backward. It was a headlong dive off a steep cliff.

 

One can only hope that Busch’s letter of apology is more than a belated attempt at damage control. Perhaps he can learn from the consequences of his actions in the truck race.

 

If not, he’s in serious danger of undermining his entire career.