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June 02, 2006
Who’s the real crazy old man?
By Mike Harper
So this is what the view looks like from Turn 3. Nice!
It’s been a week of hard work and I’m just catching up on email and finishing up on reading the week’s columns. Normally I don’t miss too much in the news, but it seems one very hot topic slipped past my eyes. Well, until today.
Rusty Wallace retired from racing at the end of last season. This season he’s been focused on his career at ABC/ESPN covering the IRL and building a Busch Series team. Even though he no longer competes in NASCAR, from what I read in his column "Rusty Nails It," he obviously remains outspoken about the sport he loves.
At the beginning of the season, if you were to listen to Kurt Busch the driver who replaced Wallace in the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing, you would think Wallace and the Busch family were close. For a short time there some thought Wallace and Kurt Busch could been best friends. But based on Wallace’s comments in his column, I get the impression that Wallace would rather have dinner with Ryan Newman than a Busch.
I say this because when you are close to someone, you are careful about what you say about him or her or their immediate family. This was not the case with Wallace and his comments about Kurt Busch’s brother Kyle.
Last weekend at Charlotte, Kyle was accidentally bumped by Casey Mears and crashed. Kyle’s temper got the best of him when he got out of his car and threw a piece of his equipment at Mears’ car.
If you’re like me you found humor in Busch’s actions. I knew at the time that Busch would get an invite to the NASCAR hauler for a verbal slashing and later in the week get hit with a penalty and fine. This all happened.
Wallace on the other hand took it to the next step. In his column he said Kyle Busch is a hothead and somebody needs to kick his rear. Yep, I’m being polite in repeating his comments.
In addition, Wallace put himself in Mears’ shoes and said, "If I had been there I'd have stopped, backed up and got out of the car, and smacked Busch's face off. Then I would have gotten back in the car and took off."
Unreal, my gut still hurts!
This sounds like the Rusty Wallace of old and he should give us all one heck of a ride next season when his network takes over.
June 2, 2006 | Permalink
Comments
So Rusty said if it was him he'd have punched Kyle Busch in the face. It's funny, he had that opportunity with Earnhardt at Bristol yet all he did was whine.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 2, 2006 6:33:40 PM
Mike Daly, I don't know you from Adam, but I love you just a little bit for that.
Kyle Busch needs his *ss kicked anyway. I wonder if Jimmy Spencer could be persuaded to be the permanent Attitude Adjuster for the Busch Family?
Posted by: Kelly | Jun 2, 2006 7:18:31 PM
Welcome to Turn 3 my blog brother!!! Speaking of Rusty, I think he is doing an excellent job with the IRL and look forward to his work next year back with NASCAR.
Rusty simply says what many of us think. The kid is young, immature, and needs a wake up call like his brother had.
Posted by: Mark | Jun 2, 2006 7:31:31 PM
Harper, where the heck have you been? We called home about 6 times to see if you had forgotten the way to "Turn 3." Well, it's good ya finally made it. I hope ya brought some cold ones, because that line looks pretty long there. Welcome!
Rusty has been doing great over on the Indy side of racing. I don't think I've heard too many miscues...and actually he sounds far better than I expected in the booth. However, I'm with Mike on this...He is/was one of the biggest whiners in NASCAR history and I can't think of a single time he backed his words up.
But it is nice to see ya finally here...BTW it's your turn to buy a round!
Posted by: Keith | Jun 2, 2006 7:33:01 PM
Mark, can you name any time Rusty Wallace was right on an issue?
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 2, 2006 7:48:14 PM
Mike Daly,
He said it was time to retire once. Does that count?
Posted by: Keith | Jun 2, 2006 8:13:02 PM
Welcome to turn 3 Mr Harper
glad your here
the only question in my mind is RW
using the term "hot rod"
any way welcome pick a seat flag a server
have some wings (Keith's own recipe) and enjoy
Ron
Posted by: trucker | Jun 2, 2006 8:24:54 PM
This oughta tweak you Daly. This Wallace quote after he ran a car at Talladega in a unrestricted car.
"But I'll tell you this - there's no way we could be out there racing at those speeds. It was neat to be out there running that fast by myself, but it would be insane to think we could have a pack of cars out there doing that.”
He was right, and this quote:
“I want to go out on top, and above all I want to spend a lot of time with Patti and the kids, and I don't want to be some invalid or hurt and killed because of something that went wrong.”
Correct again. And this can't possibly be wrong:
“It's just one of those racing accidents.”
His critique of Carl Edwards:
“Carl is a darn good one (driver), no doubt about that,”
Want more Daly, there are hundreds of them.
Posted by: Marc | Jun 2, 2006 8:30:09 PM
I hold Rusty in high regards, regardless of his whining, I remember him from the ASA days, along with Mark Martin.
Mike Daly regardless of what Rusty would say about Old Iron head, When Dale died so did a part of Rusty. I can't wait for him to come over and call the Cup races!
OH BTW Mike Harper...That'll be a round of Bud long necks...NOT Miller Lite!
Posted by: Tbfka# 5 | Jun 2, 2006 9:54:07 PM
Mike, Rusty was a whiner BIG TIME. That is why I dropped himas a favorite after the Kodiak days. I think Marc covered all of the things he has backed up and I don't keep track of that stuff.
Posted by: Mark | Jun 2, 2006 11:07:42 PM
Marc, those are no-brainers you're citing - try and come up with one where there was real disagreement involved.
BTW, that "it was just one of those racing accidents" is - William Holden warning! - Standard Operational Bull, especially from Rusty.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 2, 2006 11:34:28 PM
Thanks for the welcome wishes! You people are too kind. Someone emailed me and said that Turn 3 was the ZIMA section, but I'm guessing I was told wrong uh? You party animals!
Keith, I'll head back to my home state of Texas and grab some "Lone Star, the National Beer of Texas" and we'll get down to business here in Turn 3! 10-4 Mark?
Okay to use a quote from Randy Jackson (for those of you who have been on another planet, he's from American Idol), I'm keeping it real, check it out - I haven't met a driver who hasn't whined. At some point they all do it. Some make a living out of it, but to stay on point regarding the post, I'm finding Rusty interesting in his new role. First he says Jeff Gordon needs to focus on racing and not vacationing. Now he's smacking Kyle Busch across the face. Makes me wonder if it's his way to keep his name active since he's stuck smelling IRL fumes this season.
Posted by: Mike Harper | Jun 2, 2006 11:54:46 PM
RE: "Mark, can you name any time Rusty Wallace was right on an issue?" - Mike Daly
Can ANYONE on any of these blogs name a time when Mike Daly was right?
BTW, Rusty threw a water bottle. Get your damn facts straight know-it-all.
Posted by: Keith#3 | Jun 3, 2006 9:39:24 AM
His name is generally spelled corectly.
Posted by: Marc | Jun 3, 2006 10:10:05 AM
Keith#3, everything I say is accurate - unlike yourself I post from rationality, not emotion.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 3, 2006 12:08:12 PM
Mike (Harper, that is), welcome to T3. I'm sure you already know that everything anybody posts on any RT.com blog is subject to scrutiny and probably rejection as "completely wrong" by Mike Daly. The excerpt "everything I say is accurate" from his post above says it all.
Posted by: David Green | Jun 3, 2006 11:29:40 PM
Mike, I was wondering how long it would take you to make it across the track. Welcome to Turn 3!
I've never really been a fan of Rusty's, but I've never disliked him either. All that sticks in my mind is when he first joined Winston Cup and everything he said was: "I" this - "I" that - me me me me. It was never "we" or the "team." That just rubbed me wrong. And even though that has changed over the years, I still never forgot it.
When it was announced that he'd be spending this season covering IRL, I was curious as to how he would do. He's surpassed my expectations. I love hearing "hot rod" during an open wheel race.
I agree with Mark, Rusty is just saying what everyone else is thinking.
Enjoy the view, Mike! Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! (Keith can't edit yours, can he?)
Posted by: Shirley | Jun 4, 2006 10:33:04 AM
Shirley,
Actually, yes I could...but that isn't even a consideration since this isn't my house...This is Mikes House! If he tolerates Boogity in his house that's all good...Boogity at my house has to go out back with the smokers.
Speaking "Wallace." Steve Wallace at least put glasses on for his interview Saturday. Watching his eyes squinch around as he searches for words during interviews can be both painful and comic...LOL, but he did manage to get a "Hot Rod" in there.
Posted by: Keith | Jun 4, 2006 1:56:19 PM
boogity has to go,it sucks
Posted by: richard cooper | Jun 5, 2006 12:32:22 PM
Richard,
LOL even DW seems tired of saying it.
Posted by: Keith | Jun 5, 2006 1:17:53 PM
David Green, if that is supposed to be funny, it isn't. I only "reject" posts that are demonstratively false and insincere.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 6, 2006 12:23:57 AM
David Green: I thought that was a cheap shot at poor little MonkeeBoy (Mikey Daly), but it sure was funny :)
And true !!
Posted by: Keith#3 | Jun 6, 2006 9:02:58 AM
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