It Was Them Black Helicopters, I Tell Ya.

[AfterShock]

I wasn't at the race on the road in New York State so, I only saw what "they" allowed me to see -- which for sure wasn't "them" up there.

Was anybody here, there -- anywhere,.....or do ya even care?
If anybody didn't come home it's cuz "they" came an' got 'em.

Who ARE those guys?!

Look what "they" did to Kurt Busch during the Cup race. I mean,..... things like THAT don't "just happen". What are the odds?
What determines when the pit row light actually comes on? Must be a thinking being.

Although, come to think about it, ---- I DO OOOPppS, never say that!
Lemmie start again.

I remember a CTS race -- don't remember what track -- mighta been Bobby Hamilton driving -- when the flagman threw the yellow flag, and the driver backed out of it ------ZZZZzzzzOOooooommmmmmmm--- he gets passed by other drivers.
Whuzzup wif dat?

NA$CAR rules it his error in that the yellow condition isn't "official" until the yellow LIGHT comes on. Or somethin' like that.

WHHhhhh???!!

Know what?
It was them Black Helicopters again. Just like always -- messin' things up for Kurt.
And I think they do some of that stuff on purpose 'cause they enjoy messin' with us.

I'd like to know who's finger is on the light switch?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

But with the C.O.T., I haven't yet heard if there will be a system of lights on the dash -- or where ever a driver can't miss the lights -- to put an end 0nce and for all to this question that exists.

Why isn't Brian interested in removing a doubt and possibly creating a safety issue? Being the 'all safety minded and level playing field' kinda guy he is. I believe that technology already exists. Perhaps  those suppliers aren't willing to pay a Kings ransome for the honor of being the Official Whatever of NASCAR.
Why buy 'em when you can get 'em suplied at no-charge and! they pay M E?

But, ..........I digress.

Movin' on now,...........................................................

I'm here to tell you, and I ain't ashamed to say it either, that during the Busch race and the Cup race -- I was actually cheering for him to win. Kurt Busch!.
Imagine that and go figure!
And he did another snow angel -- on the dry ground -- still looks kinda dumb -- but above all, it showed Kurt has a sense of humor.
So, Kirt Busch is also off my excrement list and back on my good side.

I'm also going to change an opinion of mine. Now, I DO think Kurt possibly made a good choice when he decided to sign with Penske for the Miller ride. I think he and Ryan will get along better than Ryan and Rusty did. I hope so.

I think Kurt Busch could have swept the events -- winning both the Busch and Cup.
I hate to think them Black Helicopters might hang around and try to keep him out of contention for the chase for the tail,....uhhh, ..... I mean championship.
Who the heck ARE those guys ANYway?

[IndyCarzGo]

Who the heck ARE those guys ANYway?

Only The Shadow knows.... and HE sure as hell ain't tellin!!!

[Dustcloud]

Well...

The sky was clear and not a copter in sight but the TV one from MY seat at least. And unless they changed the layout since I've been in there, the triggering spot for the caution lights doesn't include a great view of the pit road entrance line. Almost no place does. so I'm not convinced. I think he tried to get an advantage by slipping into the pits before they closed, and the gamble backfired. Sorry. He's not the first guy that's happened to. He's not the first CONTENDER that's happened to, if I remember a year or two ago at Sears Point.

On the bright side, it was the second biggest cheer Kurt Busch got all weekend (First being when R. Gordon leaned on him on the last Busch series lap and almost passed him). I knew it had gotten kinda bad, but I didn't realize until this weekend how VERY disliked - or that's not really the right word, because he didn't get booed, but he barely got cheered either, even when he won. It's like a majority of the fan base has become indifferent to Kurt Busch

[paulfan]

Kurt's luck account was way overdrawn when he won the chase.  Paybacks are Hell..

[AfterShock]

"It's like a majority of the fan base has become indifferent to Kurt Busch."

It does sorta seem that way Dustcloud. When Kurt does well, the cheers don't materialize like they would if another driver did the exact same thing. That's gotta hurt, ya know? But Kurt put himself in that position with his cocky past atttitude and actions.

But I think Kurt just may have gotten a whif of the coffee brewing and made a few adjustments.

Sure can't fault his driving though. When it counted, Kurt was there and he didn't give it up easily. Actually he didn't give it up at all. Man on a mission, and he was successful in my opinion. That race ended with a battlle that will make $$$$ for NA$CAR. You can bet that footage will be re-run over and over for some time to come.

A show like that must be worth SOMEthing to the fans -- even those who didn't cheer right then. After reviewing,  those fans surely realized what a battle it was for Robby Gordon and Kurt.THAT'S the NASCAR I remember -- back in the day when the racing was still considered a sport.

I'm thinking that finish just might have been the truning point for Kurt to redeem himself to his fans. It's not easy not cheering for Kurt when he's doin' good runnin' up front with the big dawgs. When I see a driver doin' good -- and don't hear many cheers, it's an empty feeling, and it ain't natural. Good = cheers. Or it should.

After Kurt's big finish in the Busch Series, I think fans had their eyes opened again. Then, after the pit stop mis-hap, I'm thinking some fans felt that ol' "sorry for him" feeling, and softened their hearts.
If Kurt goes no farther toward the chase for the championship, if his actions Saturday eased the dislike by the fans just a tad, and the feelin' sorry for Kurt crowd causes reactions that are responded to with a "defend Kurt' mind set, Kurt will have made the best of the situation even though he won't be chasing his tail. He regained what he might need even more right now. His fans.
Don't leave home without them.

[Dustcloud]

Well, I find it easy not to cheer for Kurt Busch, but I haven't been on THAT bandwagon since his sophomore year. but be that as it may, this might be a start, but I don't expect much of a rapid change. For heaven's sake, when the guy crossed the line for the win, he didn't get cheers. He got polite applause then the crowd started beating it to the exits and they only seemed to stop to listen when Robbie Gordon was interviewed on the loudspeakers. I've never seen so few wait to see the victory celebration in ten years of races at WGI.

Kurt Busch has done a lot of stupid things, and in the NASCAR of today, a lot means "a lot more than people a few years ago" - at least in some ways. And as you said, the racing he did at the end is what NASCAR should be. I can't pretend I hope the fans soften to him for that. I think he has to earn it. And I think it'll take more than hard racing in two turns - precisely what he's supposed to be doing on the track as a matter of course, nothing special - to turn fan opinion back the other way. A lot of conversation on the way out was how a big-name team like his could have trouble with little ole Robby Gordon's team. (No mention was made, I noted, of Robby being a road course specialist, or where he GETS those cars for his team. Convenient memory lapses on their parts I guess)

Anyhow, I think it's going to take him a long time, especially now that he's in that 2 car. At least the 97 was his own. that 2... that's Rusty, and  I think a lot of fans dislike that someone like Busch succeeded to that ride (though I personally think the two are a lot alike)

It's impossible to deny he's cleaned up his act a good deal. But I think it's gonna take years before a win like Saturdays'll get close to the cheers it once would have. Cheering and booing are a breath apart and scarily easy sometimes to change, but indifference...

[paulfan]

Ryan Newman spent a long time in the Nascar trailer after the race and came out successful after his plea to have his points restored after the wreck in the chicane.  His motor mounts were broken, throttle sticking, etc,etc.  Fact is he did not stop after running the chicane, same as Said and Fellows. 

Their penaltys stuck and Ryans didn't.  Was this a payback to  Penske for a missed call on pit road?

[Busch Babe 899]

Well...

The sky was clear and not a copter in sight but the TV one from MY seat at least. And unless they changed the layout since I've been in there, the triggering spot for the caution lights doesn't include a great view of the pit road entrance line. Almost no place does. so I'm not convinced. I think he tried to get an advantage by slipping into the pits before they closed, and the gamble backfired. Sorry. He's not the first guy that's happened to. He's not the first CONTENDER that's happened to, if I remember a year or two ago at Sears Point.

On the bright side, it was the second biggest cheer Kurt Busch got all weekend (First being when R. Gordon leaned on him on the last Busch series lap and almost passed him). I knew it had gotten kinda bad, but I didn't realize until this weekend how VERY disliked - or that's not really the right word, because he didn't get booed, but he barely got cheered either, even when he won. It's like a majority of the fan base has become indifferent to Kurt Busch

Oh, don't worry about Kurt....he still gets PLENTY of boos at Indy and Lowes...:D:D

And he even had to feel a little good sharing Mark Martin's truck around the track in pre-race at Lowes...when Mark climbed onto that truckbed with him, this huge cheer went up...and Kurt's grin got bigger...vicarious cheers, he HAD to be pretending (at least a little bit) that they were for him.

Sadly, Kurt really hasn't done anything BAD recently...and some fans are forgetting, I guess....they are finding OTHER "bad boys" to boo...immediately after the Cup race, Kurt "politely declined" being interviewed (I'm betting you would have heard a few boos HAD he been interviewed over the PA system)...guess he's learned his lesson, take time to cool off before talking to the press, rather than risk sounding like a fool spouting off about his good day gone bad...musta gone to the "Tony Stewart" PR school...

Who knows?? Some might even begin to <GASP!!> LIKE Kurt, and his lil bro...

BTW, I saw a lot of Kurt Busch fans and even more Kyle Busch fans at Indy...they're out there, just waiting for someone to come along that the masses dislike more than the Busch Bros...

[Racergiant]

I think I remember seeing a replay of that incident from a different angle...

It looked to me that the Yellow light came on as Kurt was about one second away from it.  Even the driver with the most accute case of "OAAD" (Over Active Adreniline Disorder) could not have reacted in time to not go thru the pits.  Kurt stopped in the pits and got tires and fuel while the boys upstairs in the NA$CAR booth tried to sort it out.  No time to warn Kurt to go around and/or just drive thru the pits.

Sorry Kurt - it was simply the wrong place to be at the wrong time to be there....

[AfterShock]

I think I remember seeing a replay of that incident from a different angle...

It looked to me that the Yellow light came on as Kurt was about one second away from it.  Even the driver with the most accute case of "OAAD" (Over Active Adreniline Disorder) could not have reacted in time to not go thru the pits.  Kurt stopped in the pits and got tires and fuel while the boys upstairs in the NA$CAR booth tried to sort it out.  No time to warn Kurt to go around and/or just drive thru the pits.

Sorry Kurt - it was simply the wrong place to be at the wrong time to be there....

....................................... ....................................... .................................

Of course it is possible this was all just a mistake, but maybe not.
How can anyone be absolutely positive "the boys upstsirs in the NASCAR booth" did not sort it all out after receiving *special* instructions from on high? If the powers that be NA$CAR decided Kurt is not their favorite to win, what a golden opportunity to throw a monkey wrench in the works for Kurt.

The way Kurt was running he deserved to win, or place in at least the top five. On the other hand, Kyle Busch comes from five laps down to finish quite well. What a contrast.

NA$CAR and their on the spot decisions, especially when the location of a light is in question as to a driver being able to see it in time to react, seems to punish the driver for NA$CARs poor location judgement. Like busting a motorist for running a stop sign overgrown with bushes. Just because one can not see a sign does not mean they can disregard that unseen sign.

I think, if the answer from the officials is not immediate, then it must have caused a question. If the NA$CAR officials do not completely understand or are aware, how do they expect the driver to be up on that rule? If an official had informed the crew chief of the violation of a rule as soon as it occured, Kurt could have motored through the pits and avoided a penalty. That did not happen. And that leaves one to wonder about the integrity of "the boys upstairs in the NA$CAR booth" and their ability to *fairly* sort it out.

NA$CAR motto: *Our mistake ----- is your mistake.*
Make no mistake about that.

[paulfan]

I learned on XM Nascar radio that contestants have about 20 minutes after the race to contest their place in the finishing order.  Ryan Newman was "Johnny on the spot" at the hauler and tapes were reviewed and he was moved up in the order.

What happens when you are moved down and wouldn't have anything to protest?  I't just tough luck, Boris.

In the case of Watkins Glen his appeal would probably have been denied as his and Ryans tapes would be the same incident but I found this little factoid interesting.  The next day official postings are primarily because of teardown issues.

[nascarbabe2U]

I finally got to see the issue in question here and FINALLY some darn racing goodies......I watched Speed for 4 hours last night.

To me it's simple, and I watched the replay over and over and over until I was convinced the ole Kurt got 'nailed" and not even a 'smootch' to go with it. I mean come on what else was the guy to do?

Looks like Aftershock was right...it's about the $$$$$$$$$$ not about the sport ! !

Great !
Next thing ya know we'll have those little windows at all tracks where one can place a BET on who 'will' or 'will not win'.