Jeff inspired me...JB
I had a lot of laughs about this situation, but the only thing about this incident that sort of concerns me deep down is that some day, some hot-headed punk (I won't mention who I'm thinking about) might have been impressed enough by what Busch did, to..."lose his cool"...in a nitro funny car...or any kind of drag race vehicle...and decide to imitate what that guy did.
Stupidity spreads across the complete spectrum of humanity, and race car drivers, pro athletes, businessmen, rock stars, politicians, doctors, ex-lovers, and next-door neighbors are not excluded from irrational behavior while they're expected to act properly...it's been proven that some of the least likely are susceptible to having moments of loss of reason.
I just hope that boneheaded stunts like this don't become contagious and proliferate. Good luck and safe racing to all. JB
I love it...great post and well-taken points...thanks. I still buy M&Ms, too. Next to Tootsie Rolls, they're my favorite candy...
Yes, they've been doing that as long as the sport has existed...seems like right now there's a heightened awareness so I'd bet they finish the season politely. JB
I had the same thought about what if he did that to McCullough or Hoffmann...he wouldn't be racing any more, period. He'd be in ICU, and not from injuries sustained in the deliberate crash...in addition to a lifetime ban.
I've never heard of anybody deliberately hitting the other guy in drag racing. I've seen 'em jump out of their cars at the end of a run and rattle the other guy, but never an in-run attack...but track racing, shoot. You have a group of cars racing with no lanes, so they're going to bump into each other from every angle even when they aren't doing it on purpose. They have to expect that.
It's all a dangerous proposition, but if you at least keep your head together the risks might be less likely...
Wally, did you ever consider racing with those guys?
Thought I'd add, a couple of seasons ago, me and my cousin Bert ran into Jack Beckman at the O'Reillys here. He liked us...he hung out with us for 15 minutes or so and made jokes, told stories, poked fun at himself, asked us about ourselves and walked around the pits with us. Looking back on that, maybe he needed to do that, those guys are under a lot of stress and we could have been just what he needed at that moment. What I do know is that Jack is one hell of a great guy to have done that. Me and Bert still remember being buddies with him.
