NASCAR would benefit from a rivalry such as this, as long as it does not get out of hand.
NASCAR does not need Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to succeed. They do not need the Hendrick Motorsports domination to vanish. What they need is a good old fashion rivalry involving two former champions. Two of the most likely suspects stepped up to the plate last weekend.
No matter how many times Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart assert that their latest on and off-track conflict is over, it is not. Those two tenacious drivers have possibly become the two most chastised drivers this decade due to detrimental conduct.
We are talking about a driver that wrecked Robby Gordon on purpose during an All-Star race in 2002 just so he could benefit from a caution that he apparently needed. This same driver purposely tried to cut down Jimmy Spencer’s tire in a race at Michigan in 2003, which ultimately resulted in a fist to the face. Recall it was Jimmy’s fist to Kurt’s face. This same driver belligerently taunted a Sheriff in Arizona prior to the race in Phoenix in 2005. This incident prompted his former boss Jack Roush to suspend him for the final two races of the season.
How about the other driver involved? This driver punched Kenny Irwin, Jr. through the passenger window at Martinsville in 1999 following an on-track incident. He also cussed out Jeff Gordon after a race in Watkins Glen in 2000. Less than a year later he spun Gordon out at Bristol on pit road after the race was over. He punched a photographer following a race at Indianapolis in 2002, and the list can go on and on; however, my fingers are getting tired.
Busch and Stewart are without a doubt two of the most talented driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, but their tempers are legendary. It is no surprise that they have hit head on due to their dogged personalities. Their rivalry dates back to Kurt Busch’s early days as a Sprint Cup driver.
Stewart often complained about the young brash driver and his style. After a race at Talladega in 2003, the two engaged in a difference of opinion over something that had happened during the race. I believe this was the time when Busch squirted some water from his water bottle at Stewart. The feud subsided for the next few years, but it resurfaced last season.
We all remember the Kurt Busch bump at Daytona last February resulting in an accident that took out both drivers. Both drivers indefatigably stated that there was no feud, and we believed them.
At Dover some four or five months later, Busch and Stewart were fighting for the same piece of real estate. However, Kurt Busch seemed to receive the short-end of this scuffle. While Stewart was in the pits having his car serviced, Busch angrily charged into the pits, nosing the side of Stewart’s car, and nearly running over one of Stewart’s crewmembers.
Of course, once things cooled down, both drivers persistently stated that the feud was over, and we hesitantly believed them.
Clearly, there are harsh feelings between the two drivers. If there were not, they would not have engaged in three noteworthy confrontations in less than a year.
Neither one of these drivers seem to let things go. Believe me; these two drivers will clash again before the season is over. NASCAR would benefit from a rivalry such as this, as long as it does not get out of hand. I mean, is not the Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports storyline rather played out?
