Happy Independence Day...Love Tony and Kyle

In the last few moments of the Coke Zero 400, NASCAR had its own version of Independence Day fireworks, just a few minutes before the real show was scheduled to take place. 

Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better ending then what the fans were treated to on Saturday night. The last few minutes had all the components of a summer blockbuster hit which included excitement, drama, and a smashing ending.  

In our society today, it’s not only the race fans, but it’s also your everyday normal people who relate to the hero/villain scenarios that are played out in many of today’s movies. Was the Coke Zero 400 the sequel to Daytona, February 14, 2009, staring Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart?

Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart were fighting tooth and nail for the win as well that day at Daytona. No matter how hard Busch tried to take Stewart out of his groove by banging and bumping the rear end of Stewarts Nationwide machine. Stewart would not budge, but instead held on for dear life and once again it was the hero who walked away unscathed with the victory.

Tony Stewart-The Hero

Ever since Stewart has taken on the responsibilities of ownership, we have seen a different side of the driver that is nicknamed, “Smoke.” Now that nickname didn’t just fall into his lap because he was a gentleman out on the race track.

But instead he earned it by the rough; take no prisoners, drive it till the wheels fall off style of driving. Stewart was known to be a very aggressive driver whenever he needed to, and he was always one to speak his voice no matter who it offended.

Stewart’s demeanor, as well as his attitude has always been consistent with his driving style.

When you think about the changes that Stewart has gone through in the past six months, it’s a real testimony just watching how well he conducts himself these days.

He is not the loose lipped, say what comes to mind, loose canon, who cares what anybody thinks type of person anymore.

But instead he is more relaxed, while taking on more gentlemanly type of role. If ever a time that it showed, it was Saturday night after the race when he took a few extra minutes to get out of his car, knowing that the spotlight would be on him.

It would probably be easy to say that because of the change of attitude, that could be one of the reasons that Stewarts fan base has grown so much this season.

It also helps that for the first time in his career, he is sitting in the No. 1 spot in points this early on, and has adjusted to the role very well.

Stewart today is making all the right adjustments not only in his driving abilities, but also in the way he handles the pressures of the media.

Kyle Busch-The Villain

What can be said about a driver that took NASCAR by storm in a huge way?

His driving style is one which would would make any one of the Hall of Fame nominees smile with joy.

Kyle’s willingness to push his car to the extreme is not seen in to many of the drivers today, and that is just one of the many aspects that make him so exciting to watch.

Kyle will take the chances that other drivers might frown upon, and his attitude is if it works great, and if it doesn’t, at least I tried. A driver’s attributes are what can make and break a career. The drivers of today are sometimes afraid to push the envelope knowing that the outcome could do more harm than good.

Whether he is winning races then bowing to the crowd afterwards or he is finishing outside the top five and walking away without a word, the one thing fans can count on from this fierce competitor is the un-sugarcoated truth.

Kyle is conformable being the villain, if it mean he can speak his mind.   How many other drivers are willing to comment on NASCAR’s golden child Dale Jr., letting him know exactly what he thinks about his dismal season? Then when that doesn’t work, Kyle attacked his fan base knowing exactly which buttons to push to really get Jr. Nation all riled up.  

Kyle is an entertainer, and it’s because he knows all too well where he stands as far as NASCAR is concerned, Kyle will continue to play the role of the villain no matter which driver is willing to challenge him.

Kyle Busch is exactly what NASCAR needs from a marketing standpoint, especially when you look around at all the sports and each one has their villains as well as their heroes.

Drama and the uncertainty of the main characters is a huge selling point these days, and it’s easy to see that Kyle Busch fits that mold by all the attention that he draws wherever he goes.

In the end

So here we are five months later and the sequel has just ended, and once again it was another exciting finish for the 90,000 or so fans that were in attendance, as well as the thousands that were watching from the comforts of their own television sets.

The ending was enough to get anybody’s adrenaline pumping compliments of Kyle Busch who would walk away from a wild wreck, after he moved up the track in an attempt to block Stewart, as they both raced for the finish line.

Endings like these are what make NASCAR racing one the most exciting sports that any person can ever witness, as well as what keeps them coming back for more.

The excitement starts when 43 of the sports best drivers, climb in behind the wheel of a 3800 pound slab of twisted steel, and let them race at speeds most of us can only dream of.

Saturday nights ending was déjà vu of a race that was run in April at Talladega superspeedway where it was Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Roush/Fenway Claritin sponsored Ford Sprint cup car who would supply the fans with one of the most violent wrecks, that NASCAR have seen in a very long time.

Now even with the horrendous impact that destroyed Edwards’s car, he would still finish the race on his own power literally by jogging across the finish line.  

Tony Stewart, who has finished second four times this season to go along with his season leading 13 top ten’s,  would very somberly take his second win as an owner-driver knowing that this could possibly be one his most controversial victories of the season.

"It's just a bad situation," Stewart said. "It's not bad because we're put in a bad position. It just is what it is. I don't feel as much gratification from winning this race as I probably should, I guess, because I don't like the way the outcome happened."

Stewart, who has always been known to take a victory any way that he could get them and at any cost, had this to say after watching the replay of his former teammate get tossed around like a rag doll before crossing the finish line.

"I don't want any part of winning a race because the guy who was leading the race got wrecked," Stewart said. "I don't know that we did anything wrong. I've seen replays of it, and he's protecting his position, which is what he's got to do.”

Incidents like what happened on Saturday night are inevitable, especially when you take into account that Stewart and Busch are the series most aggressive, as well as two of the most fiercest drivers in the series today.

Many will put the blame on the restrictor plates that have not escaped their fair share of controversy ever since they were put into use back in 1987, after the terrifying crash of Bobby Allison during Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. 

But when you look a little more deeply into what transpired, it’s not hard to see that driver error could have also played a key role. 

Kyle Busch has been known to try and make his car wider than it is, while trying to block other drivers from getting around him.

This tactic was especially noticeable at Talladega back in April, when Kyle was trying to protect his lead early on.

Busch’s last lap maneuver resembled more of an act of desperation, which could easily be a product of the fact that Kyle is also riding a so-called mini slump with only two top tens in his last eight starts.

Kyle has had finishes of 34th, sixth, 23rd, 22nd, 13th, 22nd, seventh and 14th, which are way below his standards.

Discussions of Saturday night’s outcome will continue to have its share of who was at fault, and even though it was Stewart who won the battle, ultimately it was NASCAR who won the war.

Once again we were very fortunate to see our entire cast of warriors return home safe from the war thanks to all the money, effort, and countless hours  that NASCAR puts into their R&D safety program.

But how many more battles will be fought before one of our warriors succumbs to the war because of the product that just happens to fail one day?

NASCAR can only go to the well so many times before it dries up and someone gets seriously hurt.

I’m Out.