(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)
Since when did "knowing how to lose" become a prerequisite for being a good NASCAR driver? And how exactly is someone—particularly a driver racing in the sport's most prestigious series—supposed to act when they lose?
I know how people should act if we are talking about a family playing Monopoly on a Saturday afternoon. Mom and Dad would frown terribly if Little Jack starting throwing the pieces at Little Jill every time he landed on her property and had to pay her rent, or if he got up and stomped away, murmuring obscenities under his breath and refusing to talk to anyone.
What I don't pretend to know is anything about how someone should act after losing an adrenalin-filled 500-mile race at speeds of nearly 200 mph at the edge of what the laws of physics allow a 3,400-pound, 800-horsepower car to do on any given track on any given race day in front of millions of viewers.
I simply can't imagine that kind of pressure.
What I can easily imagine is that some people will take it better than others. I can also easily imagine that even the same driver will take losing well in some circumstances and not so well in others, and that the reasons for the differences will change from race to race as well.
What got me thinking about this, you may ask? Once again, I have just read an article here on B/R that crawled up under my skin and got me thinking that the Busch-bashers of the world need to finally wake up and smell the rubber burning, generally from the donuts Kyle is doing before heading to Victory Lane.
In an article about how differently Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski reacted to finishing second and third respectively in the NNS race at Nashville, I was literally dumbfounded by what I read.
Between the contents of the article and the comments from readers about it, more time was spent whining about Busch's supposed "whining" than on anything else. Sure, there was a little talk about how much "character" Brad Keselowski showed by being happy about his third-place finish, but that was by no means the focus.
The article and the comments began with a quote (or misquote, as the case may be) meant to impugn Busch's "character," or lack thereof. Later, the author and commenters berated his attitude, questioned his passion for the sport, and did everything short of accusing him of kicking his dogs back at his motorcoach after a loss.
It is for those people who think that Kyle should "grow up," "change his attitude," and "start acting like other drivers when they lose" that this article is written.
More importantly, it is not just for those who think Kyle should do these things, but for those who think any driver should change their attitudes or their behavior because they don't seem "politically correct" enough or aren't "what their favorite driver would do."
To them all, I say shut up and let the drivers show their personalities, whether you happen to like them or not. And if you don't like them, then find another driver you do like.
There are drivers of all personality persuasions. Pick the one you like and hope they finish well enough to be interviewed as often as Kyle is.
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