Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: you write us with your best rant/joke/one-liner at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face. Today, because the Dover race wasn't exactly the most thrilling, you folks are still focused on Kyle/Kevin.
But before we get started, a couple notes: first, give us your name and hometown (and, perhaps, your chat room nickname) when writing in. Give us a little more about you, you know? Next, feel free to send in as many letters as you like, but remember: everybody else is writing about that week's Big Story; you've got a better chance of getting in if you go with something offbeat. Now, let's roll with the last word (for now) on the Kyle Busch/Kevin Harvick situation.
First, the anti-Busch contingent:
This guy is a baby crying whining little waste of skin! I love NASCAR, but all everybody does is talks about their Baby Kyle. I talk to a lot of people who say they don't watch Nascar anymore because it doesn't matter if "baby " is in 30th spot, y'all will find him and follow him all day. It makes us sick to hear the way you guys just love him ... His three fans are the only ones who care.
? Marilyn Teasley
All right, then. And, in the interest of fair play, the anti-Harvick voice:
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First off, Kevin Harvick isn't a bully, he's a primadonna little�whiner.� He's talented, to be sure, but he races like a girl who saw another girl wearing her dress to the prom ...� Oh, and as for the part with Busch punting Harvick's car on Pit Road?� Every one of your readers is a moron if they don't think it was Harvick's fault.� Why? Because YOU, THE DRIVER, are ultimately responsible for YOUR equipment.� It's YOUR CAR.� Kevin the idiot CHOSE to LEAVE HIS CAR, IN NEUTRAL, to go "speak" with Kyle ... You don't leave your multimillion-dollar equipment unattended and OUT OF GEAR.
? John Cork
Clearly, there are no mild feelings on the matter. We conclude with a voice of reason ... or whatever passes for that around here:
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I've never heard so many ridiculous�comments resulting from the Kyle/Kevin incident. Such as:�"Kyle should be charged with attempted manslaughter", "Kyle should be suspended for 4 races" and so on. Seriously!? Do these people not realize that the only thing keeping NASCAR from sinking are these exact situations? ... We don't watch for the�3 hour races driving in circles with the last 20 laps being the only ones worth watching, and we certainly don't watch to see the same person win year after year. We watch for the drama, the exciting wrecks and the rivalries. NASCAR is not going to�deter their most popular drivers for doing exactly what is keeping the sport popular. Does no one else�realize this ...?
? Buddy M.
Spokane, WA
Note: all three of those letters took various unprintable shots at NASCAR, the fans, the media, you readers, and even Junior Nation, for some reason. Some of you may need to lay off the Red Bull/Starbucks cocktails.
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Jay, I have an idea to improve the racing at restrictor-plate tracks again. Since the new, smoother surfaces at Daytona and Talladega have led to two-by-two racing, NASCAR should install temporary bump stops around the tracks. And, so the drivers don't figure out where they all are and avoid them while still driving two-by-two, NASCAR can move the bump stops to different spots during practice, qualifying, the Nationwide race and the Sprint Cup race, kind of like the hole selection in golf. I bet the racing will go back to the way it used to be.
? Daniel
I'm not sure of the wisdom of installing bump-stops at a track where speeds reach 200 mph, but I will say that anything which takes these drivers out of their comfort zone is a lot of fun to watch. It's why Eldora, the Chili Bowl, and other local short-track charity events are so much fun -- these guys have to bring a whole new set of skills into play. I'd love to see a race on public interstates, like Kyle Busch did in Washington, D.C. a couple years back, but there might be a few logistical problems with that one.
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Do you think that AJ Allmendinger is turning out to be the next failed [open-wheel driver] to [try the] NASCAR experiment like Dario, Hornish and Danica?
? Roscoe Slutz
Um ... no. Dinger's doing just fine. And if he can get in better equipment, or if Richard Petty can get him some, you can bet he'll get that first win before long. In closing, let me just say that "Roscoe Slutz" is an awesome name.
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At the dirt track I used to go to, if you caused a caution, for whatever reason, you went to the back of the pack.� Act up bad enough and you would be banned from the track.� The same could be done in NASCAR; put them at the end of the lead lap.� Act up bad enough, you don't get to run at that track when it has it's next Cup race.� Sponsor doesn't like it?� Let the sponsor talk to the driver, not NASCAR; the sponsors aren't running the show.
? Jerel Walker
The sponsors would beg to differ with you, sir. But it's like everything else: the superstars get different treatment than the rank-and-file. If, say, Andy Lally gets in trouble, you can bet the hammer will drop a lot harder on him than it would on one of the marquee names. You know this. I know this. Everybody knows this.
But, you know, as long as we're coming up with wacky penalties, let's speculate. Here's my idea: for every caution you cause in a season, you lose one crew member. By the end of the year, certain guys would have to be getting out of the car to change their own tires. Tell me you wouldn't watch that. Your ideas?
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Jay, I'm curious on a couple things.
Please tell me none of them has to do with Harvick/Busch.
First, how long does Truex have left on his contract at MWR?
Oh, thank heaven. And the answer is, I don't know. His status isn't public, but he's signed through at least the next couple years.
It would seem to me, depending on his contract situation, he could be interested in a new team when it comes time.� Here's two scenarios that I would like to see as a Truex fan.� 1:� Stewart-Haas has long been rumored to want to add a third car.� With Danica more than likely jumping into Cup with JR Motorsports, Truex is a logical fit.� 2:� Jeff Gordon races for 3 more years.� Any chance Rick Hendrick does what he did with Kahne and signs him before he has a ride lined up?� ... In either case, he doesn't have to be "The Man" at either organization.� He can follow and learn from some of the best the sport has.� Or do you see him staying at MWR long-term ...?
? Adam
Fort Wayne, IN
Truex is at the low edge of that "promising-but-unproven" tier right now, the guys who should be running well for the next decade but as yet haven't fully capitalized on all the expectation. (Also in that mix: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman; Denny Hamlin just vaulted out of it last year.) What he proves over the next few years at MWR will go a long way to determining whether he'll have a seat at one of the topline teams waiting for him. Also, you've got to consider how long Gordon, Stewart, Burton, etc. will stay in their seats; that turnover could clear a space for him. I see plenty of opportunity ahead for Truex, but he's got a ways to go before he reaches that top echelon of drivers.
And on that note, we're out. Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com, find us on Facebook right here, or hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee. Make sure to tell us where you're from. We'll make you famous!
[That art above done by "DracoArt" of the Bump-Drafters group on DeviantArt. Go check 'em out; it's great stuff and we'll be featuring more of it throughout the season.]
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