Bleacher Report - Articles by B Brand

Kyle Busch May Not Be Remembered For His On Track Performance

B Brand — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:36:50 -0400

History is a curious thing.

What's curious about the current situation with Kyle Busch is just how history will treat him. If you've read a newspaper or web page or watched any sports show you probably already know about Kyle's actions last week in Nashville.

Since then there's been a ton of comments, blogs, articles written about him and his actions. Some don't think it was a big deal, debating that the guitar was just a guitar. Others say it was his trophy and he could do whatever he wanted to do with it.

Others aren't so understanding. They argue that he showed tremendous disrespect for Sam, Gibson Guitars, Nationwide Racing Series, and Nashville Speedway. Quite an accomplishment for one's night's work.

The incident if you want to call it that wasn't his first brush with the controversy. He's tangled with many a driver on all kinds of tracks. And maybe all those incidents weren't his doing but there are plenty of other drivers who might disagree.

There's enough controversy off the track as well. He's been known to make a statement of two about Dale Earnhardt Jr as well. He alluded to the idea that maybe what happens on the track isn't the fault of Jr's crew chief. His recent statement was calling Junior Nation crazy.

Okay so maybe that wasn't the smartest thing a guy could do. Kyle also claims he has no issue with Junior. That's another debate for another day. The question now is do people have an issue with Kyle?

As years pass and the day comes for Kyle to park the car, how will history remember him? Will they remember him for the races he won? He's already won plenty in all three racing series.

Or will his on track success be overshadowed by his many disappearing acts when things don't go his way? Or maybe he'll be remembered for what he did after the races like what happened in Nashville?

The question has no answer today. But perhaps Kyle might want to give it some thought. The answer today may affect how Kyle's racing career is remembered years down the road.

Changes in Dale Earnhardt Jr's Crew Not Limited to a New Chief?

B Brand — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:40:41 -0400

Whatever happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr, the son of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt?

Seems a fair question for those who call themselves Junior Nation—those who followed his career since the Busch series days.

He came onto the scene with a bang, winning two championships back-to-back in 1998 and 1999. From there he moved to the big time, driving the red No. 8 Budweiser car for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company started by his father.

He won the All-Star race as a rookie, something no other rookie had done up to that time, and battled for the rookie of the year, losing late in the season to Matt Kenseth.

The yellow rookie stripe was barely off his car when his dad lost his life on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. The kid became a man overnight, or maybe it took place on that plane ride from Daytona to North Carolina.

He continued on in racing, going back to the track that claimed his father's life. What many thought would be an emotional race proved to be just that—an emotional win for not just the driver of the No. 8 car but for the majority of NASCAR fans.

Since then, things have changed. Crew chief change number one took place after the 2004 season when DEI's Teresa Earnhardt switched crews between the No. 8 and No. 15 teams. The second big switch in his career came years after, during the 2007 season, when Earnhardt announced he was leaving DEI and signing with Hendrick Motorsports.

Since then, he's won three races counting the Bud Shootout and a Gatorade Duel last year in Daytona. Jump forward a year and chapter two of the crew chief switch has taken place.

But is that the only change that's taken place this year? To those who follow his career, there's a debate that races aren't the only thing he's lost. He's lost part of what made him Dale Jr.

Call it confidence, or the "swagger" as former PR rep Jade referred to it on Speed Channel's Wind Tunnel. Call it what you may, but it's missing.

So I'll rephrase the earlier question: What happened to Junior? Was it the fire that nearly took his life back in 2004? One could argue that nearly dying on a track could change a person.

Or did it happen when he left DEI, after a tenacious battle with step-mother Teresa? Earnhardt Jr. once said he raced to gain approval from his father. Did leaving DEI also cost him that 'swagger'?

It could be argued that he had a sense of family pride, representing DEI after his father's death in 2001. There he was, carrying on the family business, taking the face of Dad's company. Feeling he was forced out of that position might be a reason why he's changed from the person he was to the person we see on the track in 2009.

He could be involved in too many outside distractions; Whisky River (his downtown Charlotte bar), a Nationwide Series team of two cars, and numerous sponsorship obligations including appearances and commerical shoots.

Not so says the man himself.

He visits his once or twice a month and leaves the day-to-day running of his Nationwide Series teams in the capable hands of sister Kelley.

Whatever it is, someone needs to find what Earnhardt Jr. lost. Send out a search party, issue an APB, and call in the National Guard.

A great driver and an all-around nice guy's career might depend on it.

I Became a Fan When Dale Earnhardt Died

B Brand — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:25:26 -0400

I remember watching races with my dad when I was little. This was a long time ago, before Dale Earnhardt drove his famous black number three car.

As I got older, I'd often leave the house so my mom (the Rusty fan) and my brother (the Earnhardt fan) could have their usual debates all Sunday afternoon. I didn't consider myself a race fan, but I knew who Dale was. That afternoon, I came home before the race was over. I sat down figuring that I would watch the final laps. I remember seeing the wreck. I remember watching Mike Helton make the "we've lost Dale" speech. That's when it happened: I didn't know him...never met him...barely watched him race...but I felt like there was this hollow place inside...something was missing and would never be the same. Dale was gone. I went online that night, sitting at my computer, which was in the basement at the time. I sat there surrounded by Nascar memorabilia of both Dale and Rusty. Above the desk were three plates...one of them with Dale Earnhardt, that crooked grin on his face. I remembering looking at that picture and feeling sad that I'd never get the chance to watch him race...that a brilliant career had ended.

I've read a lot since then, watched a lot of old races my brother had taped, and became a fan of the sport. My brother has since moved 1,000 miles away and my mother has since passed away. It's back to me and my dad watching the races, just like when I was little. And once again, there's no Dale Earnhardt on the track.

Five Ways To Get Junior Back on Track

B Brand — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:05:11 -0400

Too much time has been spent covering why Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't seem to win this year. There's the debate over his crew chief, and whether Earnhardt's lost his edge or desire to drive.

There's the blame game and finger pointing that takes place week after week. And of course, there are those racing junkies (a kind description) who debate everything under the hood, and then some.

I just happen to think it's all going a little overboard.

There are really a few simple things they (we) need to do to get him back in Victory Lane.

1. Convince him that every track is really Talladega. He did well there and loves this track. Of course, convincing him that a road course is really Talladega might take some doing. Then again, it might not be a good idea to take the turns on a road course at 200 MPH.

2. Put his dog's picture on the pit road sign. He's obviously an animal lover based on his two dogs, two cats, etc. So put one of his beloved pets up there.

Of course this doesn't mean other drivers won't follow with pics of their beloved pets and create more confusion on pit road, but then how many have pet buffalo? I'm thinking Laverne and Shirley on the pit road sign might be the answer.

3. Record Chad Knaus and play his voice every time Earnhardt asks a question. Maybe he'll think Knaus is making the calls, and won't debate every one of them for 20 laps.

4. Start his car off with the No. 5 on it. Then when it's in the garage, peal off the numbers (while he's watching) and make it the No. 88. He'll think he's getting one of Mark Martin's cars, which have won two races this year.

5. And if all else fails...threaten him that he's gotta have dinner with Teresa Earnhardt once a week until he wins.

Question Those Junior Haters and a Challenge to Writers

B Brand — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:35:44 -0400

There are plenty of reasons to hate Junior but the problem is who's to blame.

There's the fact that he's the most popular driver...okay, so Jr. haters claim that he earned that title by being the son of a legend. But is that really his fault?

He didn't ask to be born. I guess we should be hounding his mother since he dad's not here to defend himself.

There are those who say his popularity doesnt match his success on the track. Valid point only nobody ever said being popular meant you were the best.

Think back to high school or politics or any number of reality shows. Does the best person win or the most popular?

There's the fact that he's not won this year but then there are....hold on I'm still counting...drivers who also haven't won yet.

Guess that one might be his fault or partly his fault but not entirely. Carl hasn't won a race yet and how many did he win last year. Wonder what's wrong with Carl. Maybe one of the media could stop hounding Jr and find out what's up with Carl.

He drives a blue...or green car. That's not really fair either since the car is red, blue, green, white, black and lots of other colors if you count all the stickers.

Fact of the matter is it's easy to hate Junior. The media certainly gives us enough reasons in their vast number of articles, blogs, etc. Junior is just too easy a target for them to resist. Although I have to wonder how they sleep at night.

I mean they benefit from all the hits readers give them when they mention his name. Maybe the media should stop taking the easy way out and actually go out in search of a story. I know that's harder.

It's kinda like walking your kid door to door selling fund raisers. After all, it's much easier just to take it to work and guilt your fellow employees to buy something. But let's consider it a challenge.

Find something NASCAR related to write about other than what Junior did or didn't do this week. Shouldn't be too tough to write one article without mentioning Junior's name.

On your marks, get set.....GO...