Kyle Busch Ticketed; 128 in 45 mph Zone

sighs, why am I not surprised. The man is immature. Tracks are for racing. Public roads are not. What a moron. He could have just run that car on a track if he really wanted to go that fast. Shameful and selfish

Local radio DJs are getting lots of mileage out of this today. Two of the morning hosts who aren't really into racing have been blasting the news of such recklessness and have made more fun of Kyle Busch than I could even begin to recite. I do hope The Right Reverend Joe Gibbs has taught that boy to pray before he gets behind the wheel. At least pray for the other folks on the road with him. At least the Lexus was yellow so it could be seen coming (AND GOING). But, I must admit, that on April 12, 1978, I was stopped for 137 in a 55. Kyle, if you need legal advice, all me. I didn't lose my license on that one.

Tim

I just heard on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the morning that you didn't need a valid drivers license to race in Nascar. I think that's incorrect, but if it is true, reckless driving (25 mph over) should be treated like their zero tolerance of drugs. We all know apologies and fines don't work with these guys, 5 race suspensions do. Come on Nascar, what do you say about that? if someone had pulled out in front of this idiot, would it still be ok with nascar, Joe Gibbs, M&M and other companies that someone was killed because of Kyle's reckless disregard of public safety??

Pete, angry in Michigan.

No Patty, Kyle is not a kid, he is a legal adult. Shame on NC for not dropping the hammer on him as the North Carolina State Police are as tough as any. They very well may take his license. More importantly what if an animal or person happened to go across this road ? What if the great one just made a mistake or had a mechanical failure ?

I would say the same thing today, yesterday or 50 years ago.

PattyKay Lilley said:

Was this a dumb thing to do? Of course it was...and to my knowledge, no one has ever accused the lad of being the sharpest tool in the shed. He is a KID, and kids do stuff...as pointed out by the Legend, many of us were equally ignorant and uninformed...plus, like all young folks, we believed we were invincible.

I must hasten to point out that there was no accident involved here, and not even the slightest suspicion of alcohol or other mind-altering substances. (Brian, are your ears burning?) He is a kid and he got a speeding ticket. Not the first time that has happened, and won't be the last. I believe that I read yesterday that he has had one other ticket in his life. Unless NC is a lot tougher than most of our 50 states, that isn't going to cost him a license. Reckless driving might, but unless he was driving at that speed on the wrong side of the road, I don't see that as applicable.

As I type, I'm reminded of a couple other gentlemen of NASCAR that took to racing on the open highway...more than once. Their names were Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly, and their antics are legendary in the sport of stock car racing. Were they called the same names and damned the way it's being done to Kyle? Maybe by Ralph Moody, but not by anyone else...except of course, the Florida State Police that tried unsuccessfully to catch and stop 'em.

I'm just sayin'...sometimes we have to step back a moment in order to see things in the proper prospective. Turner and Weatherly are hailed as heroes of our sport, though I'd wager the farm that they were going at least as fast as Kyle, and on a two-lane road with two-way traffic. (And...they were young) How then does Kyle become so vilified for doing no more than most of us have done? Sounds like this court is a bit imbalanced today.

Oh, and just for the record, I am not one bit shy.

~PattyKay

Jim, I agree with you. I think in Michigan, 25 over is considered reckless driving and it's been that way for years. It's up to the police to enforce it and an arrest can be made. I've been pulled over a few times and remember the State Police reducing the speed to 10 over from 25 on one occasion. He told me I could be arrested even with no points on my licence. This was in 1985, my last speeding ticket. That warning was all I needed to hear.

Jim Reep Jr said:

NC DMV states a mandatory loss of vehicle driving privileges for ANY conviction of speeding over 15 MPH above the posted speed limit . In most cases an arresting officer can relieve the offender of his/her license for anything above 25 MPH over the posted speed limit when the arrest is made on the spot. I am surprised Kyle was not arrested & booked on the spot. Since most race related types live & work in that county, a political decision was made. Anyone else would be in jail under 1/2 a million dollar bond & set afoot for @ least one year, no "prayer for judgement". Gibbs should fire him, Toyota should withdraw support & Nascar should barr him for the time of his revocation. Fair is fair. Athletes always get away with breaking the law. They have MONEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a disgrace !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mom mentioned this to me this afternoon and said that the radio hosts said he wouldn't get into trouble for it because he has a special license. I suppose that means that he can't get any points taken off his license. I guess the gov thinks that they are used to speeding on the track and need lee-way on the road.

Which also reminds me of this time about 4 or 5 years ago. A friend of mine, who is the daughter of 1950 Daytona winner, Harold Kite, was caught speeding (not sure of how much) anyway, when the officer asked why she sped, she calmly said that her father was a racecar driver and she supposed that some of his "Lead Foot Genes" were passed down to her. He didn't even give her a warning, he just said ok, sorry for the inconveince and left.

-Cody

Racers,

I stopped reading these entries when I finished Ms. Lilley's contribution. She's right and I want to add to it. I pull harder than anyone against Kyle Busch everytime he races. But what he did pales in comparison to the antics of Curtis Turner and many of his peers back in the 50s and 60s. I was a big fan of Curtis Turner, however,his well-documented escapades in the air and on land are in another strata from KB. Those of us who spend so much time on this websitehonoring the pioneers of stock car racing really shouldn't be too hard on young KB. While I do not in any way condone his speeding, he wasn't even drinking as fas as I've heard andonce again falls short of those that laid the foundation for this sport and that type of behavior. Tim, you gotta tell meyour 137 mph story some day.

I turned on the tv this morning at 5:15 as I prepared to mount my treadmill for my 45 minute workout. I was just in time to see a three minute report about the incident. The attorney for Kyle was being interviewed then they went from one radio talk show to another throughout the southeast. Kyle was catching so much flack I thought I was listening to the Glenn Beck show blasting Obama. It was brutal and I do mean BRUTAL. The bottom line though, after all the talk radio clips and Kyle's attorney's thoughts, this was said:

"Lowe's Motor Speedway is expecting a huge bump in ticket sales because of the incident".

Wonder if Marcus Smith is paying for the ticket, the defense, and, perhaps, paying off the North Carolina Judicial System?

Tim

historicracing.com

Man I'm confused..Kyle was racing Curtis and Scott Crossfield ?

I know I'm being a smart ass...just getting a kick out of this conversation.....

My 2 cents....128 mph? exact? I doubt the accuracy .......

Buddy Baker's Porsche..I remember well.....allegedly 130 plus mph on 29. years ago....