Beard Released from CPR (1 Viewer)

[Rat]

I think it takes a huge ego just to get into one of these cars and hold the pedal down and I also think it helps your overall chances of success.

So I don't begrudge Cruz for having this characteristic, its a common one for anyone who has won a championship in any sport.

I do not agree with you at all. There are champions in this sport as well as drivers who have never won anything who don't have a huge ego. Look at John Force, what ego? Don Schumacher, what ego? They have both won as drivers and owners and they are genius businessmen and they don't snob personnel or fans. Tony Schumacher has the right ego, he knows he's good, he knows his team is bulit on high expectations, yet everyone on that team is as humble as can be. I think Cruz's problem is simple. He won a title in his rookie year and it completely ruined his tolerance for not winning it every year. Yes it's good and healthy to try and strive for perfection but accept the best that you can do. Someone has to tell Cruz it's not healthy to think you deserve to win and that you are the best. I never really liked Cruz that much cause he just acts like he's better than everyone and his team deserves to win. You can hate to lose, but it's wrong to hate to lose because you think your better than everyone else.

 

[Paul]

Patrick, for me having a "big ego" primarily means having very strong confidence in your own abilities (to the point of being fearless), which I'd say is a characteristic that both John Force and Don Schumacher also have.

The behavior that you mentioned you don't like (ie being condescending or rude) strikes me more as "bad attitude" (or just basically being a d***).

I'd agree that someone with a big ego that also has a bad attitude is a poor combination but I don't think having a big ego necessarily means you will treat others poorly, John and Don are good examples of that.

I guess after thinking about it, people often use the phrase "he has a big ego" in a negative way but I think what they really mean with that expression is the deadly "big ego plus bad attitude" combo.

 

[Bullet]

When my sons were getting ready to enter the workforce, one of my pricipal pieces of advice was to never, no matter how distasteful or hard to work for a place or a boss was, NEVER, EVER speak ill of them. In other words, NEVER burn your bridges. You just never know if you'll need to use them again. If you start ripping the person or company you used to work for after you leave them, those words just may very well come back to haunt you later. A future employer just may think twice about hiring you if they think you'll just rip them when you leave. Especially to the press.

I agree with your sentiments 100% and instill those values in my children.

In such a specialist field like Lee is in, he has the luxury of speaking his mind whenever he wants without the repercussions that you or I might experience when doing a similar thing.

Humility goes a long way.

 

[StockersRock]

I think much of this comes down to "ego" vs. "conceit".

As a competitor, you have to have ego. If there was no ego, there'd be no reason to be competitive.

Conceit, however, is having ego, and letting everyone know it.


From dictionary.com:

ego - 1. the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.

conceit - 1. a high, often exaggerated, opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments; vanity

To me, it is fact that Tony Schumacher is a great champion and legend of this sport and will be forever recognized that way. There's no way he can sit home and look at all the accolades and not know that. Yet, he will really only show flashes of that when he's in "kill" mode, for lack of a better term, before a huge round, of if his confidence has been challenged. I really could say the same about Force, too.

Cruz, while having an enviable record to most anyone that's ever raced a funny car, will be recognized as a great racer, but will never truly be a legend (unless he starts stringing together some unbelievable seasons). His win total is enviable when looking at the all time Funny Car list, as are his two championships. But when you look a little farther into it, his greatest successes have come on real hot streaks, many years apart. One strength to his argument, however, is that he's amassed his record while missing a fair amount of time in the early '00s.

I have no axe to grind with Cruz at all. Not really a fan, don't at all dislike the guy. If he really is as negatively portrayed, which is closer to "conceited" than just having a big "ego", than he certainly will never be in the same league as Schumacher's, Force's, or even the Bernstein's and Amato's. The one thing that ties all these legends together is the fact that having continuity of one great crew chief, through their respective peaks, is something that Cruz has shown (so far) that he's incapable of keeping.

 

[Pete]

I had a few negative experiences with Cruz back in his alcohol days. Then again when he moved to the McDonalds car in '92 and yet again when he ventured on his own in about '05....and family members did as well.

I never try to make anything on the 'Mater personal, but Cruz is a conceited, stuck-up, sh@T doesn't stink a$$h*le and its simply because he doesn't give a crap about the fans who allow him to make a living! He's always been that way and to see his constant revolving door of crew and crew chiefs, he is showing that what he shows to the fans is what he shows to his team.

Cruz will always be better and smarter than everyone....don't believe me? Just ask him and he'll tell you the same thing.

IMHO, he hired Beard to tune-up his car, so that he could get the books/notes and tuneup info.

 

[DragFan2]

I'm just glad Lee Beard is okay. I saw the thread title "Beard and CPR" and thought the worst. Yikes!!

Same thing I thought, Lee. Actually, it has struck me several times since this thread was started as it keeps bumping back to the top of the list and I had already forgotten that CPR stood for Cruz Pedregon Racing. LOL