The crew chiefs of the NASCAR Sprint Cup have been playing a real game of musical chairs these last two weeks. Kind of like the hockey coaches: Next please!
But we learned Monday that the powerful Penske Racing team gave Kurt Busch his pink slip. Kyle’s older brother is apparently just as unmanageable.
Yes, Kurt has had a difficult season and butted heads with his crew chief, Steve Addington. But until now, Kurt Busch’s mood swings were either very discrete or cleverly camouflaged by Penske’s communications department.
But after he was forced to throw in the towel at the season finale in Homestead, Bush shouted abuse at American TV reporter Jerry Punch. Punch wanted to get a live interview with Kurt Busch in the pit lane, but made him wait for a bit.
Bush got fed up and started cursing at Punch. Problem is, the entire scene was filmed by a bystander who, naturally, posted it on YouTube asap. You can imagine the rest.
Penske Racing and the sponsor of Busch’s Dodge, Shell/Pennzoil, were flooded with scathing remarks from furious fans, some even swearing they’d never use Shell or Pennzoil products ever again.
NASCAR fined Busch soundly, and Monday we learned that big brother was out.
A knee jerk reaction from Roger Penske?
I don’t think so, because Busch’s public tirade was absolutely unacceptable. One wonders why he would attack a television reporter so venomously in the first place. A few days after being fined, Busch admitted he was seeing a sports psychologist about his mood swings. Too little, too late, my friend.
NASCAR has to make sure its drivers remain calm and dignified in all situations, both in and out of the car. There’s no way drivers can flip out in public, even in the most trying of circumstances. These athletes have enormous influence over millions of kids, racing fans and stock car buffs.
Let’s hope the other drivers have gotten NASCAR and Penske’s message. Inappropriate outbursts must be severely punished, whether they like it or not. NASCAR is not a circus.
But we learned Monday that the powerful Penske Racing team gave Kurt Busch his pink slip. Kyle’s older brother is apparently just as unmanageable.
Yes, Kurt has had a difficult season and butted heads with his crew chief, Steve Addington. But until now, Kurt Busch’s mood swings were either very discrete or cleverly camouflaged by Penske’s communications department.
But after he was forced to throw in the towel at the season finale in Homestead, Bush shouted abuse at American TV reporter Jerry Punch. Punch wanted to get a live interview with Kurt Busch in the pit lane, but made him wait for a bit.
Bush got fed up and started cursing at Punch. Problem is, the entire scene was filmed by a bystander who, naturally, posted it on YouTube asap. You can imagine the rest.
Penske Racing and the sponsor of Busch’s Dodge, Shell/Pennzoil, were flooded with scathing remarks from furious fans, some even swearing they’d never use Shell or Pennzoil products ever again.
NASCAR fined Busch soundly, and Monday we learned that big brother was out.
A knee jerk reaction from Roger Penske?
I don’t think so, because Busch’s public tirade was absolutely unacceptable. One wonders why he would attack a television reporter so venomously in the first place. A few days after being fined, Busch admitted he was seeing a sports psychologist about his mood swings. Too little, too late, my friend.
NASCAR has to make sure its drivers remain calm and dignified in all situations, both in and out of the car. There’s no way drivers can flip out in public, even in the most trying of circumstances. These athletes have enormous influence over millions of kids, racing fans and stock car buffs.
Let’s hope the other drivers have gotten NASCAR and Penske’s message. Inappropriate outbursts must be severely punished, whether they like it or not. NASCAR is not a circus.
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| Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR |