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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Keselowski-Busch battle was proper use of ‘have at it, boys’

You live by the sword, you die by the sword.

And the nonstop drama that unfolded as the race came to a close at Bristol Friday night was a case of ‘Have at it boys’ as it was meant to be.

Brad Keselowski is already an accomplished racer, but he learned one very important thing tonight -- If you bump someone out of the way, you better set sail or you’re going for a spin in retaliation. It doesn’t matter what you meant to do, the guy you hit is not going to take it positively.

But here’s the best news of all: Nobody flew into the stands, and no multi-car wrecks occurred as a result of the exchange. It all went pretty much as it should have, just like it does on short tracks all over the country every weekend.

Even those who love to hate Kyle Busch have to realize he did nothing wrong Friday night, and I think even Brad would agree. You could see in his eyes after the race how much he had wanted to continue the exchange, but he was smart enough to realize that wouldn’t be the wisest move since he’s on probation.

This is an interesting time for Keselowski. The young drive is loved by some, hated by others and has been involved in high-profile beefs with big names like Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Under probation, he has to be aggressive somehow while avoiding the long arm of the NASCAR law … not an easy task when you’re racing at Bristol in very tight quarters.

I think this whole dispute works out great for NASCAR, though, as the sport does need rivalries. It’s a pretty widespread practice for fans to dislike Busch due to his naturally cocky nature. And despite being criticized by many, Keselowski has emerged as the victim in many of his previous tangles, and has gained many fans since his memorable win at Talladega.

In the minds of many, these feuds are a classic good vs. evil battle, even though the drivers might not agree with the designations of which is which.

And as long as nobody goes flying toward the spectators or gets hurt – and we get to watch some hard racing up front between two strong competitors like Brad and Kyle -- it’s really fun to watch. Brad and Kyle are both very good drives and will be around a long, long time … and I hope this is just one of a long string of battles.

Unlike some the previous battles, which ended with extreme reactions by his adversaries, this was just good, old-fashioned short-track racing at Bristol, and I think most people will recognize that.

Jr. happy with Cup car
Dale Jr., in an upbeat mood after a strong 4th-place run in the Nationwide race, said his car was pretty good on the Cup side and should do well on Saturday night.

Is that a typo? No, and a clean-shaven Jr. (the beard wasn’t giving him too much luck, apparently) seemed genuinely confident when he said it, after a solid finish in the Nationwide race. If he can run up front, it will be a huge confidence booster for the #88 team, which has been seriously in the dumps lately.

Conway to Robby Gordon team
So the sweepstakes to win Kevin Conway and the Extenze sponsorship that comes with him goes to Robby Gordon Motorsports, which put Kevin in the #7 car this week, while Robby is driving the #07.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is obvious you didn't watch Brad race all the Nationwide races before this year. I did. He was bounced around like a pinball by the Cup guys that came over. He finally got tired of it and began giving back. Then Denny Hamlin's mouth along with his front bumper got involved with "I'll show you". Brad has an UNearned rep based on Denny Hamlin's mouth and deeds. Brad didn't set out to be a driver who wrecked people, but that's what the media has made him out to be. I wish there was somebody with the cajones to do a little research and get the real story. Now that would be real reporting. In the meantime, Kyle clipped Brad's nose and got loose. Brad was in no way at fault, but as long as writers like you spread the word that it's his fault, that's what we'll see. Keep writing crap like this and see one of the most hated drivers become even more obnoxious.

August 21, 2010 at 3:28 PM 

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