(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
NASCAR is NEVER boring. Especially when you've got veteran and multi-talented drivers like Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart vying for the lead.
Emotions can and usually do, run high on the track and outside the cars.
Emotional? How can NASCAR be considered an emotional sport?
If you've ever watched the drivers and crew before a race you'll notice most drivers begin to get really focused. Most quiet down and you can see the determination on their faces. Longer races are usually harder on the body and require longer pre-race prep time. Hydration, physical fatigue as well as mental fatigue, are all major factors of a race. Getting yourself emotionally prepared for the race is almost as important as physically prepared.
Once on track and never one to be outdone, Stewart is usually one to put the pedal down and push her for all she's got when it's crunch time. He doesn't usually disappoint himself or fans if at all possible.
Then there's Shrub—Kyle Busch.
Most often prone to hot-headed moves and emotional outbursts, all things that have at one time or another plagued ol' Mr. Stewart. He isn't likely to let off the gas or close his mouth, even when it might be best.
These two are so much alike when it comes to racing, but they are just at different points in their likeness, too.
Tony has somewhat mellowed and matured. I won't use the wine analogy, because frankly, wine could never be that hairy. But the difference is quite noticeable in him. Not as quick to outbursts, quieter in tone, but just as sassy when asked what he deems a silly question by a roving reporter. That will probably never change.
Shrub on the other hand is always a bit on the wreck-less side. He hasn't had the fine tuning that Tony has learned. I must believe that given time, Shrub will hone his skills.
Both are masterful drivers, with skills on the track that out-do most of their fellow drivers. Mistakes are not something that either admit to readily or that happen often.
So when the closing laps of the Coke Zero 400 began looming, both drivers had but one thought between them, "Get out of the way bud, I'm taking the checkers!" Those in the near vicinity be damned, we're gonna duel this out!
Here's where watching a NASCAR race can become emotional.
My driver who was running about 12th to 15th at this point, and vying for every position he can get before the checkers drop, becomes a casualty of the two running up front.
No one wants to see their favorite driver caught up in the melee of mangled autos. But every good NASCAR fan knows at some point it's going to happen. It's just the nature of the beast. It's just racing.
When it happens you're not ready for it.
No matter how small an accident it might be, it still pisses you off. At a track like Daytona where drafting is such a major component of being able to run up front, even the slightest ding in a front end can take enough air out of your sails to render you useless in the race.
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