Busch-Logano Incident, and NASCAR Reaction, is Troubling

Heat of the moment passion in sports is completely understandable. I get it. Kyle Busch gets screwed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race and he wants to make someone pay. He seeks out Joey Logano to read him the riot act. Maybe shove him as he turns to walk away, just to make his point.

Perfectly fine.

But for whatever strides Busch has made the past couple of years off the track — maturity seemed to gain some traction in his life — his post-race confrontation with Logano in Las Vegas was a step backward.

Frankly, it was a step toward the criminal.

Walking to Logano’s hauler and then hauling off with a roundhouse right is assault. Had it happened in the stands between a couple of paying customers, the offending party would have been in the pokey.

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NASCAR: Patrick’s performance is reality show

They desperately want her to succeed. Hard as it may seem, they may want it more than she does. But make no mistake, Danica Patrick wants her NASCAR experiment to cure cancer, generate free energy and correct global warming.

Yet after she finished 31st at Auto Club Speedway in  Fontana in her non-restrictor plate debut — on a track where a driver can make a difference — you were left with a few thoughts and NASCAR suits must have been wondering, at least for a split second, “My god, what have we created?”

Was this much ado about nothing? Yes.

Is she as good as advertised? No.

NASCAR: Kyle is the pile driver in Chase

Kyle Busch was starting to wear a little thin, so maybe he got the comeuppance he deserved by not qualifying for The Chase.

Maybe it was noteworthy that he missed by only eight points, that he came so tantalizingly close, because he acted this season as though victory was his divine right. It might have been easy to feel a little empathy for him if the most dangerous man in the Chase hadn’t been so darn arrogant.

There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence. Maybe Busch ought to study Juan Pablo Montoya to get a feel for how it’s done.

NASCAR: Time Busch puts pedal to the mettle

Now we find out what Kyle Busch is made of.

Hero, or zero.

One of only three men who, until this point in the season actually deserved to win the  NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, Busch now finds himself in unfamiliar territory.

Last place.

With eight victories on the season and a lead going into the Chase for the Championship, Busch has gone from first to worst among the 12 qualified drivers for stock car’s title run.

If he were a continent, Busch would be Antarctica.