The Leader of the Brat Pack

On Saturday night, Kyle Busch once again proved that it's not nice to race Kyle Busch hard, at least in Kyle's opinion.

His post race altercation with winner Carl Edwards just proved once again that maturity is not part of Kyle's character. On the cool down lap, he decided that Carl's bump and run move that helped Carl seal his victory in the Sharpie 500 warranted another bump of his own. Kyle's efforts only ended up with Kyle spinning out when Carl leaned back a little. During the post race interview, Kyle made the usual whiny noises that he makes when he has a victory snatched from his grasp.

Kyle may like to pretend that his own bump and run maneuvers are always completely above board and legitimate. I imagine others would not see things that way. Just ask Mr. Earnhardt what his thoughts were when Kyle spun him at Richmond. Kyle Busch seems to maintain a holier than thou attitude when it comes to his own dirty tactics on the track. As a matter of fact, very few, if any of Kyle's total 17 wins in 3 series have occurred without him physically pushing someone out of his way. In speaking about the Richmond incident with Earnhardt Jr., Kyle sarcastically said that "apparently racing Dale Jr. isn't allowed."

The real truth is, and Kyle has abundantly demonstrated this, is that racing Kyle Busch isn't allowed. What we saw on Saturday night at Bristol was just another predictable temper tantrum from the guy who likes to call himself "Rowdy". Carl Edward's bump and run was very clean by Bristol standards. Kyle got a little loose, but continued on and finished in second place. Had Kyle been spun out by Edwards, as Earnhardt Jr. was by Kyle at Richmond, Kyle might have had reason to be upset.

At Richmond, reporters tried to goad Dale Jr. into pointing a finger of blame at Kyle, and Dale Jr. refused to take the bait. An obviously frustrated Earnhardt Jr. refused to blame anyone, pointing out that he had not watched a replay and didn't want to pass judgment until he had taken time to review the situation. Contrast that with Kyle Busch' attempt to use his race car as a 3500 lb. fist and give Edwards a punch, especially after the race had concluded. Apologists keep pointing out that Kyle is only 23 years old. That explanation is getting old, and quite frankly lame. There are infantry platoon commanders, who have led their men in combat who are younger than Kyle Busch. Kyle has been at this game long enough to know better, and in my humble opinion, Kyle's behavior is not just annoying, it's down right shameful. Watching a grown man throw a tantrum is not a pretty sight to see. It's not even a pretty site when a preschool kid does it, but it's especially embarrassing when a grown man does it.

Nascar fans and journalists like to group their drivers in varying ways. There's the old school guys, like Bill Elliot or Kenny Schrader. We've had the young guns like Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne. Now it appears that we have the brat pack, of which I personally feel that Kyle Busch is the undisputed leader.