Saturday Night at Bristol

Before anyone even has to ask, yes, I saw the whole thing.

Race Recap

Saturday night Carl Edwards performed a masterful bump-n-run maneuver on Kyle Busch (who could possibly deserve it more?) with 30 laps to go and then drove off into the the sunset to win the Sharpie 500.

Kyle had led more than 400 laps (unheard of, but not a record) only to have a less than outstanding adjustment on the final pit stop leave him vulnerable to Edwards. At the time it happened Edwards clearly had the faster car, just not enough real estate to pass Busch without bumping him.

Let's remember a fundamental rule of NASCAR. "He didn't hit you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you. He rubbed you, and rubbin' son, is racin." That classic line delivered by Robert Duvall (and yes, I can do it in character on command along with virtually any other line in Days of Thunder) is never more true than at Bristol. Among all tracks Bristol is unique. It's known as the world's fastest half-mile. It has high banks and stands that go straight up. When you pull up next to it, it looks like a huge football stadium with the bowl going all the way around. Only difference is that it holds 168,000 people (Andy's beloved Big House holds like 107,000).

When you go to Bristol you can count on full-contact racing. 43-cars on a track that tight makes that inevitable. The question is who can keep their composure long enough and stay out of trouble long enough to win. If you look at the history of dozens and dozens of Cup races at Bristol there are lots of examples of bump-n-run techniques leading to a win. The late Dale Sr. had at least one.

Is it fair? Yes, this is NASCAR, not IRL or something stupid like that. If you don't want the contact, drive faster, return the favor, or find a different sport (badminton perhaps?).

After the race Busch was his normal childish self (can't stand him if you weren't sure about that). But let's review. Carl bumped him just enough to get the position. He didn't spin him out, he didn't lose control of his car. Can't say that about Kyle all of the time. It was just this spring when Kyle Busch knocked Dale Jr. out of the lead in the last few laps of a race by losing control of his car and collecting Jr. in the process.

After the race, Kyle pulled up next to Carl and ran into him. Reminded me of another scene in Days of Thunder, but I'll spare you. So Carl returned the favor by spinning Kyle out. Here's the deal. Kyle has picked the wrong guy to mess with. Carl is the only one right now who is competitive enough to keep up with Busch and with enough spine not to put up with his crap. Kyle doesn't have nearly enough backbone to tangle with other drivers when they decide they've had enough - his reaction to last night makes that abundantly clear.

I'm just glad someone finally put Busch in his place and I can only hope he gets more of it over the next 13 races. The only thing more annoying than Busch's arrogance is his whining.