The good of NASCAR often goes Unnoticed

Kimi Raikkonen won the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Sunday. This was his first win since 2009. Photo from Speedtv.com.

           

            This isn't going to be a normal post about how NASCAR should change, and do something different as far as the racing is concerned. This post is about the actual good that goes on in NASCAR, and how the fan looks for the bad so they can continue to hate certain drivers. After procrastinating from my homework all day Sunday by watching the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi on my DVR, then immediately switching over to the Sprint Cup race at Texas, I was fairly successful at putting that off.            

            Anyway, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races I have seen from F1 this year. It had plenty of rough racing, wheel to wheel, bumping, cars flying, and so much controversy. Sebastian Vettel, the championship leader was penalized and had to start from the pit lane, in 24th position. Somehow throughout the race he ended up on the podium in 3rd place. Even though that was such a great drive, it was overshadowed by Kimi Raikkonen taking his Lotus to victory lane, his first since returning to F1, and first victory since 2009 in the sport. He held off a hard charging Fernando Alonso, which made for some exciting final laps. Here is how all this comes into play.

 

Kimi Raikkonen making his Craftsman Truck Series debut for KBM at Charlotte in 2011. Photo from bleacherreport.com.

           

Kimi Raikkonen on his hiatus from Formula 1 dabbled in NASCAR for a few races. He was thinking about making the jump, but wanted to run some races first. He shopped around for a ride, and ended up landing with Kyle Busch Motorsports to run 3-5 Craftsman Truck Series races. The deal was for $100,000 a race, but by the sounds of how everything went down it was more on a handshake contract. Kimi finished 15th in his first truck race at Charlotte, and decided to try the Nationwide Series out. KBM built a car, and partnered with Joe Nemechek to field the car for Kimi, but he finished a disappointing 27th. Kimi had a horrible time in that race, and decided he would hold off on any more races, especially since he was competing in the World Rally Car championship at the time. Kyle Busch felt cheated by this, and went to the media with his displeasure with Kimi. Well Kimi came back and said it was a misunderstanding, and that Kyle had been paid in full for what was raced. The fans had already made up their mind.

Kyle Busch losing his cool with Ron Hornaday after a racing incident. Fall 2011 Texas Craftsman truck race.

           

Kyle Busch was known as the bad boy of NASCAR by ruffling more than a few feathers that was until his brother Kurt took the crown. Kyle had issues with Richard Childress stemming from a truck race when Kyle roughed up Joey Coulter. That led to blows, and Childress getting someone to hold his watch, so he could teach Kyle a lesson. That incident led to Kyle getting into it with Kevin Harvick at Darlington. Harvick drives for Childress in the Sprint Cup series. Both were put on probation, but that didn't stop Kyle from punting Ron Hornaday at Texas and ultimately getting sat for the rest of the weekend. This incident led many to become worried about Kyle Busch's future at Joe Gibbs Racing, and in NASCAR as a whole. There are plenty of other incidents with Kyle I could go into, including numerous times this year he has refused comment after a bad race. One race I will say that he was available for comment, but the reporters were too worried about getting interviews with the chasers, and left Kyle out.

Kyle Busch in his KBM Monster Energy Camry at Texas where Kyle finished 3rd. Photo from therepublic.com.

 



            This is what the article is really about. Thumbing through twitter after the Texas race, I came across this article from Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) on sbnation.com. Here is a link to the article, click here. Kyle has been trying all year to get a win in his Monster Energy Camry in the Nationwide series. It looked like it was going to happen at Texas, up until the end when Harvick's car took off, and young Ryan Blaney passed Busch late with fresh tires to relegate Busch to 3rd. Last year, Kyle would have been angry, and would have said something he probably shouldn't have. He has shown a lot of maturity this year, and the feel good part of this story is with Ryan Blaney. Ryan is only 18, even though he is racing in the big leagues now close to Sprint Cup, these guys are still his idols. Kyle got out of his car, and before he even took his helmet off, walked over to Blaney and gave him a bro hug, and congratulated him on the great finish. They both joked about it after the fact in the media center, but these are the stories that need to be written about Kyle, and many others. The good sportsmanship, and comradery between the drivers.
            Even though we as fans see the bad week to week since that is reported, these drivers have big hearts and give back to a lot of people.  I will leave you with video proof of Kyle and his wife Samantha's heart of gold from ESPN. Kyle Felver is an eight year old who loves racing his go-kart, but is in a battle with illness. His one wish was to meet Kyle Busch. Take a look at the video it will shine some better light on both Kyle Busch, and Kyle Felver. If this video doesn't make you tear up, then you should probably get checked to make sure you have a heart still. After seeing this, Kyle will always receive the benefit of the doubt from me from now on. Kurt Busch along with his girlfriend Patricia do a lot of work with wounded soldiers. This year I have found myself rooting for Kurt more, because of the equipment he has been in. I hope he can turn Furniture Row into a contender week in and week out. While both Busch brothers are misunderstood by most, they still use what they have been given to ultimately give back. Until next time.

ESPN Sportscenter special My Wish with Kyle Felver meeting his favorite driver, Kyle Busch.