The thing that annoys me about Kyle is he thinks he can just go around bumping and wrecking, but when someone does it to him he whines, cries and throws a tantrum about it. Whats his deal throwing tantrums at Nationwide Series races? I know winning is good but man, its just a little Nationwide Series race. His arrogance and cockyness annoys me, however it was incredible to see Kyle come back from so deep in the field to finish well and it always seems like just when I think he has matured he does something really stupid. He has talent but at times I feel like he lacks class and maturity. Is is driving style close to Earnhardt's? Thats hard to really say because I think Earnhardt was in a class all his own. Kyle does not run well on plate races as well as Earnhardt did. I agree, Harvick seems to let his emotions get the better of him way too many times. He may be driving a black car but it does not have the #3 on it and it never will. I know if Earnhardt had been spun out he would have just laughed it off and just said "we'll see next week" but Harvick cannot wait till next week. Earnhardt never threw a hissy fit over things. He was always well composed, even after some of his most bitter defeats.
I do agree that the days of "Racers" are over. Today they are just "Drivers." When i think "racers" I think of guys who were the jack of all trades. They worked on the cars, spent many weekdays preparing the car to do battle on Saturday night. Many of them raced with very small funding and knew they had to race smart so they could run next week. Dale Earnhardt was the last of the "Racer" mold. He sacrificed so much to race and did it without his Father's backing after he passed. I read Bill Elliott's book and he had to work his way in. His family funded and raced with very little money, a limited schedule and old equipment. I have a new found respect for Elliott because his family was running against top teams with large shops and better equipment. Elliott built and worked on his cars in his small shop in Dawsonville. Now you cannot do this anymore. Realistically speaking to break into the Sprint Cup Series or Nationwide Series you need money. Talent alone will not get you there. Age also factors in. If I were a great driver in say late models and I was in my 30s no team would take me seriously because teams and sponsors want young drivers to break in now. Take for example Tim McCreadie. Great dirt late model driver, ran in the RCR driver development program, but too old. The other aspect is that these drivers are pushed much harder and running more races. No longer are these guys running years in the Nationwide Series or Truck Series, they are also running Cup races. In some cases double duty or part time in the Cup Series. So you have a case of being pushed so hard, so fast and so young. Not much room for learning and none seem to really get anything out of it. Kurt Busch's angry rant on the radio at Richmond really made me stop and think, here is a guy who is throwing his whole team under the bus. What a brat. Hes lucky Roger Penske was not at this race because Penske is a world class operation. He is being given a chance to race and this is how he shows his appreciation? He has no idea how lucky he is. Maybe if he had grown up working on the car and not having Mommy and Daddy take care of him he would have not been a jerk like that.
