Losing a Nascar race takes class
In a sport as competitive as NASCAR, some teams race with only one plan – to win. There is no Plan B, no other acceptable finish. Of course, on the other side of the spectrum, you have the teams who are simply overjoyed to have qualified for the race. Unlike the top guns, they do not have the money and ultimately, the pressure, to make a great finish.
That said, how should a driver behave after a heartbreaking defeat? There are no rules; raw emotions is one of the reasons the sport is so exciting. Nevertheless, certain standards are expected of drivers. One of them is losing a race without losing class.
Kyle Busch is among NASCAR’s most talented young racers. He wins races no matter what the series, and is building a growing fan base for this reason. He is passionate, perhaps even obsessive, about winning… and that is a good thing. It helps him win. But does it help him handle loss?
In the Nationwide Series at Bristol, Busch had a car that could have easily won the race. But his crew blundered on pit road, costing Busch his glorious finish… and Busch made sure they knew it. Over the radio, Busch gave his crew a whipping, calling them ladies. After the race, he left his car in pit road and disappeared, leaving his crew to push the car all the way back to the hauler.
It would seem that in Busch’s case, the answer would always be yes. A week after his dismal Bristol finish, he lost another race in Martinsville – the Camping World Truck Series. What did Busch do? He parked the car and raced off the track, thus avoiding post-race interactions. Now, most drivers – especially the ones with a lot riding on them – talk to the media even if they lost so badly they did not finish in the top three. But interviews are not compulsory. For the most part, drivers who are too upset over their loss proceed to their haulers or somewhere else more private, where they can rein in their emotions.
The day before Busch’s vanishing act at Martinsville, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin lost to Jimmie Johnson. It was a loss Hamlin would not soon forget. Fifteen laps before the finish line, Jimmie Johnson nudged Hamlin out of the way and out of the win. To say Hamlin was disappointed would be an understatement. He was frustrated and probably furious, too, but he kept his cool and did not avoid the press. Even so, he hinted that when the opportunity presents itself, he will repay Johnson the favor.
In Texas, pit road mistakes cost Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle the race. Edwards made sure the crew knew why he lost the race. However, he did not insult them in public in any way. “It’s hard,” Biffle points out. “Those guys get down because the fingers get pointed at them for a slow stop. … But it’s not their fault.”
Make no mistake – Edwards and Biffle could have placed first without a sweat. But somewhere between the starting line and the finish, someone made an error that cost the two their finish. They had every reason in the world to run off like a seven-year-old child. Instead, they handled their loss in a way Busch is unable to – with class.