Kyle vs. David: Who was in the wrong?
Some 70 percent of you agreed that David Reutimann was justified in wrecking Kyle Busch at Kansas. I'm in the minority here, and I'll explain why in this week's mailbag.
Let's get to it:
HAHAHA goes out to Kyle Busch and all his followers. The last person in a million years KB thought would ever retaliate probably just cost him the Sprint Cup Championship.
I don’t know if David Reutimann was loose before the first incident but clearly on video KB had the option of checking up during the second, he chose not too and ran David over (nothing new for KB) but what probably surprised everyone including the announcers (you could hear it in their voices talking about it) was that David actually did something about it.
I truly hope KB takes something from this cause he is really a truly talented driver (doubtful though). Other drivers just are not putting up with it any more. I did feel bad for David though cause you could tell he wasn’t proud of himself for what he did. That's OK David, I'll be proud enough for the both of us!
Thomas H.
Summerville, S.C. (Also known as KBhaterville)
David Reutimann shouldn't be proud. What he did unnecessarily changed the entire scope of the Chase.
Look, I get that Reutimann is sick of being pushed around and I get that he was trying to send a message. But now wasn't the time to deliver said message.
For starters, Kyle Busch didn't have anything to do with Reutimann getting run over the past few weeks. Busch spinning Reutimann on Sunday had nothing to do with overly aggressive driving and everything to do with the kind of tight racing which makes NASCAR interesting in the first place.
Reutimann got loose, had to slow up and Busch clipped his bumper. It's unfortunate, but accidents like that happen just about every single race.
I'm all for Reutimann sticking up for himself, but he has to consider the circumstances. If he were wrecked intentionally or unintentionally by someone he's had a history with, then go ahead and defend yourself. But when it's an accident, and with someone you've never had a history with, you can't set out trying to make a point when you know the person you're making an example of is racing for a championship.
Everyone will keep an eye on this. If in the end Busch winds up losing the title by only a handful of points, you can bet he's going to seek his own revenge – and he'll be justified in doing so.
Don't you think Kyle Bush is a hypocrite? A few races ago he wrecked Brad Keselowski on purpose and bragged about it in the press conference. Reutimann wrecks Kyle for the same reason and he gets mad. If your not giving respect to anybody else why should he get any back.
I'd like to see Kyle and Carl take each other out in the next race. I can't stand Edwards. He's so fake when he talks to the media.
Teddy Hampton
While I agree that you get what you give – and in Kyle Busch's case, he doesn't always give respect – I do think there is a difference. The Keselowski incident was clearly a case of overly aggressive driving. In Sunday's incident, Reutimann got loose and Kyle got into him.
And whereas Keselowski remains defiant in how he races, even in the wake of wrecking several drivers, Kyle took full responsibility for what happened.
So from my viewpoint, it was one of those racing deals, not a lack of respect from one driver toward another.
Really a great job by David Reutiman. The closest he will EVER get to being in the Chase is by wrecking someone in it. It makes me wonder what Toyota might have to say about a mid performing driver potentially taking one of their stars out of Championship hunt.
Pat Daigh
Irvine, Calif.
Jay, Kyle has become a lot better racer; he’s always been a great driver. His latest run in with Reutimann is only the start for Kyle.
To make his name in the sport he’s alienated a lot of drivers over the last 4 to 5 years. As we all know you need too respect other drivers before you get respect. Just because you’re faster then another driver on any given day does not give you the right to bump and bang your way around him.
I agree with Reutimann that it doesn’t matter if you’re in the chase or not! This would give a driver like Kyle who doesn’t respect many other drivers an opportunity to bully his way into a better finish.
Kyle will make his mark and win a championship or two and even though I’m by no means a Jimmy Johnson or Jeff Gordon fan he will never be in their league!
By the way I’m a Bill Elliott fan for life. Class act all the way.
Steve Jackson
Gardnerville, Nev.
You're absolutely right, Steve. Reputation does play a factor. If that were Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson spinning Reutimann, I don't think Reutimann seeks revenge.
If there is a lesson for Kyle Busch to learn here, it's that he does need to show more respect – and not just on the track. Maybe his analysis about Reutimann not knowing how to drive Bristol was dead on, but he didn't need to explain it in a press conference. There's no doubt in my mind that those words from August played a role in Reutimann's decision-making process Sunday.
Did it make Busch feel better to criticize another driver's ability? Maybe; I don't know. But look what the result was.
Jay, Jay, Jay – We have tried to stay calm and rational over the Clint Bowyer/Richard Childress mess with NASCAR, but our tongues are now bloody after the first appeal failed. Really??
At this point, we agree with Clint. Should have just run it up into the wall.
Does NASCAR care at all that we all think they are prejudice in their penalties and fines? Hate to bring this up since you are a JJ fan, but it seems fishy to us that with Chad Knaus' 6 career incidences of penalties, the 48 team lost only 125 championship points total and a mere $172,500 in fines.
Chad had 12 weeks total of suspension. Why is Clint/Richard subjected to a loss of 150 championship and owner points and $150,000 fine for their single violation?
Hey NASCAR … Cheating is cheating. Be consistent in your penalties. Don't treat your fans like uneducated, unknowing, unseeing subjects.
This is an ugly can of worms that is now open. Blame the economy on your shrinking fan base if you want, but these subjects are just disgusted with the Royals, making up the rules as they go along. Make it fair and across the board.
So what do you think, Jay? Are we wrong??
Mike and Nancy
Demotte, Ind.
NASCAR has done a terrible job explaining what exactly it's penalizing and why one penalty is harsher than another. So your frustration is understandable.
Still, I think you are wrong here.
The penalties are actually consistent. Two years ago, NASCAR handed Brian Vickers a 150-point penalty and suspended his crew chief for six races for a similar infraction to Bowyer's. And while this was Bowyer's first penalty, NASCAR clearly warned the 33 team prior to New Hampshire that they were close to failing inspection.
One thing I don't understand is all the whining about favoritism when it comes to Knaus and Johnson. How can NASCAR penalize Knaus six times AND show favoritism toward him? Seems to me it has to be one or the other.
And if we're being honest here, I don't root for Jimmie Johnson. I root for provocative stories. And while he's a nice guy, he's hardly provocative.
Between Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, whoever is ahead in points after Talladega will be the champ this year.
Patrick
You may be right, but the task for Hamlin will be to stick with Johnson through the next three weeks leading up to Talladega – and that won't be easy. Johnson has the best average finish of all 12 Chase drivers at Auto Club, Charlotte and Martinsville. The Chase very well could be all but over by the time they even get to Talladega.
Ya I want to see Jimmie win the 5th in a row so that people can see how silly it is to compare a Chase Champion to an ole Cup Champion. When Jimmie has 9 of these things in a row are people going to say he was better than Earnhardt and King. I guess so since we are already saying he bested Cale by winning 4 in a row. And for that I'm sorry that the sport has become a contrived joke.
By the old standard Jimmie only has two championships and by the way that is great. Jimmie is one of the Greats of all- time no doubt. Put his last 5 years up against most drivers and he kills them. But his up against Gordon from 95-99 not as good but close.
The point here is the only way for people to see how horrible a system this is, is to have a guy run off with all the records that took the last 30 years to build and then destroy them.
The Chase is kinda the same as Steroids in baseball, the game has changed and the comparisons to the past are gone. Good Luck with that NASCAR. No hate on Jimmie, he's not the one who came up with these rules.
David
Denton, Texas
Going back and doing the math to see who would have won under the old points system isn't a fair analysis because everything – namely regular-season strategies – would not be the same. In other words, Jimmie Johnson and his crew would put more emphasis on the first 26 races than they do today.
But I do think you're right in saying that the pre- and post-Chase eras are not comparable. Jeff Gordon brought this up a few weeks back, saying it's not fair to compare his four championships to Johnson's.
That said, this shouldn't preclude Johnson from being discussed as one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest. I'm not saying he is, but there's no doubt he's in the conversation.
Last call …
You gotta feel bad for Auto Club Speedway. They just sent me an e-mail, telling me about a special ticket package that would not only let me see Kenny Loggins play because of the race this weekend, but I could also see him a second time when he hits a nearby casino. As if the racing there wasn't boring enough.
Andy Wardlaw
Burbank, Calif.
