Kurt Busch (2 Viewers)

[mick]

so you're alan johnson and you have to pick a driver.

driver A has talent, money but a habit throughout his/her career of losing temper
& using vulgar profanity casting negative attention on himself, his team and sponsor/s.

driver B has talent, less money but has displayed nothing but true sportsmanship
and professional manner throughout his/her career.

emotion & profanity are not synonymous

 

[vegasnitro]

Chris,

In that case, the difference as I see it is that you are in my "locker room" I'm not in yours.

Alan

The way I see it Alan, inside his hauler is his "locker room" and the inside of his garage. Anywhere a fan can go, fair or not, they are all fair game. Kurt could have refused the interview, but he chose to stand there and be petulent and vulgar (PS it doesn't really bother me, I get that he is p!ssed off and hyper-competitive). And there had to be handlers around, those guys are never on their own, they should have diffused the situation sooner.

As a fan, I do not operate that way, but I can see how a once-a-year-at-the-track type of fan can record that video and have no qualms about putting it on youtube.

 

[JF]

Somebody mark this historic date. I agree with Chris!

You want emotional drivers, but not if they're going to be to emotional. You want passion it your sport, but they need to be able to turn it on and off.

Does Kurt wish it hadn't happened? I'm sure he does. Had it not been made public, would he have found both Dr. Punch and the cameraman to apologize later I'm sure he would have.

John Farr,

Are you saying that after one of those instances you never said to a co-worker or spouse that you hated getting spit on and you wished you could just leave the SOB by the side of the road? If somone had taped your "Private" outburst and put it on the web how would you feel? I can tell you that if I got fired everytime I was upset and said something that wasn't supposed to be public I would be living under a bridge. And I have many times made apologies for a heat of the moment response that was just that, heat of the moment.

Alan

Alan, Damn right happened all the time. BUT NOT IN PUBLIC! If It had then I would stand up, Do the right thing and accept my responsibity. But it doesn't happen at laest not to me. It only takes a minute to look around and see who you Know you can trust and who you don't know. If it was one time OK it happens but as we all know this is a frequent thing with Kurt, Kyle and several others.
As for the guy that filmed it, well he has the right to do so as long as he understnd his actions also. Maybe no more pit passes for him, Or fined a sanctioned by NASCAR.

The point is we all make mistakes, Just Man up and take responsibility for your actions and accept the consquences.

A boiler plate apoligy from a PR guy is not acceptable. A cell phone camera shot of Kurt apoliging to Jerry may be a start. With severe consquenses if it happened again.

 

[vegasnitro]

As for the guy that filmed it, well he has the right to do so as long as he understnd his actions also. Maybe no more pit passes for him, Or fined a sanctioned by NASCAR.

Why should the guy that filmed it be fined or lose his pit passes? He was well within his area of access, he just happened along at the right moment, or wrong moment if you were Kurt. He did NOTHING wrong, unless NASCAR specifically told him otherwise. NASCAR can also claim copyright and have the video removed from youtube (as NHRA ALWAYS does with controversial videos) and they have not done that yet, so NASCAR must not feel they were done wrong.

Even though it is not something I would have done (filmed that, let alone post it online), I think it is weak to scapegoat or punish the fan in any way.

 

[none]

Chris,

Unless something has changed in the last couple of years that is not a "Fan" area. I don't think you can buy a "hot pit" pass. You have to be with a team, or know somebody to get on that list. The times I have been in there it was always as a guest of one of the teams.

If that's not the case, somebody please let me know, but NASCAR to my knowledge has never sold passes to get into the garage during the race.

And if Kurt has spoken to Dr. Punch and the cameraman and they have put it behind them, why can't we?

Alan

 

[clwill]

And if Kurt has spoken to Dr. Punch and the cameraman and they have put it behind them, why can't we?

Holy cow, lightning strikes twice. I agree with Alan!

Seriously, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Otherwise, this horse is dead...

 

[BigDaddyB]

Judging by the comments Busch gets a free pass for calling another man a MF. Its just he is very competitive an owses no one any respect when he is pissed. So, therefore it would have been ok for the cameraman to retort back," FU, you whiny B, now get on before I FU up. Everyone this thread would have wanted is head. You must show some respect to the person no matter what their station in life. If civility is something hard to come by at the moment then decline the interview. It is wrong to take your frustrations out on others. You want the limelight and all that goes with it then being a gentleman is not to much to ask of someone. Whether the camera was there or not he as a man/human should treat people as he would want to be treated. I'm quite sure he would not a person saying to him, "Hey MF want to do this interview. No excuse for bad behavior. But I guess celebrity gives you a get out of jail free card. Out in the real world that kind of behavior gets you fired.

 

[clwill]

Judging by the comments Busch gets a free pass for calling another man a MF. <snip> But I guess celebrity gives you a get out of jail free card. Out in the real world that kind of behavior gets you fired.

I've been VP of HR for a Fortune 500 company and I can tell you definitively that, in the "real world", every one of this kind of incident is evaluated based on the situation.

If I walk up to you because I'm angry about something that happened yesterday and call you a MF, then yes, I probably should get fired. If I call you a MF in the heat of the moment, right in the middle of some incredibly tense situation, and I'm genuinely contrite shortly thereafter, then I probably get "a pass" (as you put it).

 

[RacerRose]

Class act. Most competitive person i have ever met other than me. Doesnt work well with others while pissed (like me) Bad time for camera and he did try to accomodate the dr. True competitor. Nuff said!

I kinda think this guy would know for a fact. I'm gonna believe him.

 

[Demon]

The way I see it is that the world today is TOO P.C. Everybody expects all to not have a moment where they are not mad and expect everyone to say nice things about a competitor.I personally would like to see the truth be told on these interviews..i.e. "Yes so and so is going to be in the other lane and I'm Tellin' ya,I'm going to stage how I want and then kick his ass".Maybe the "language" would have to be edited,or curtailed (I'm going to kick his butt),but lets see the real truth and passion.Not everyone likes everybody,and the sponsors need to realize that as well.You know damn good and well that Prudhomme loved telling the Miller folks they sent the Bud car back to St Louis and vice-versa,and the racers should be able to say that sort of thing on TV and in the media.

To me it didn't look at all like Dr. Jerry Punch was offended,as the comments were not directed at him.It did look like Kurt was still in the moment of being out of the race and having the season end like it did,and he wasn't happy about that at all.

 

[Huge]

I kinda think this guy would know for a fact. I'm gonna believe him.

That's kinda what I thought too. I know when Tony Schumacher introduced Kurt to us at a restaurant in Gainesville, Kurt was very nice.

 

[.]

Its sorta amusing how everyone thought he would be a good addition to NHRA PS, THEN. Now? Not so much.

 

[jackass]

That's kinda what I thought too. I know when Tony Schumacher introduced Kurt to us at a restaurant in Gainesville, Kurt was very nice.

Hung out with him one night in Ga many years ago.. fun guy to hang out with....

i give him a pass on the fact he just had a crappy thing happen to him.. loosing the tranny... then being told bu Doc Punch he might have ruined Tonys day with parts from the tranny goin threw his grill....

Heck.. in 94 i wanted to go punch David Hobbs for asking Bobby Allison live on tv at Daytona...what it was like with no more Allisons racing?.... after he had lost both sons ..first Clifford then Davey....

 

[d'kid]

okay, maybe I'm missing something here... I thought the kid's reaction and comments were because ESPN camera crew and Dr. Punch did not have their 'poop in a group'... Punch seemed piss at someone he was talking to over his headset... none of which carried over to the cell phone recording... I would think any interview would have a 2 or 3 second delay, just in case....

I wonder what 'story' they rushed off to.

d'kid

 

[tx_trojan]

Having lived in Vegas and going to the bullring at LVMS several times, I can personally attest that both brothers deserve all the hell they are getting. It may be beating a dead horse, but it is most warranted... They are a couple of the most arrogant and disrespectful individuals you'll ever run into.

 

[marlin]

sorry ...

The Busch brothers are both spoiled baby's

always have been

Kurt so vain he had his own ears clipped because they stuck out ..seriously

Kyle bigger baby .....

 

[n/a]

Wow. The apologists for Kurt is disturbing, to say the least.
I've raced against Kurt on ESPN2 at Winter Heat (way before he made the big time).
Benny Parsons and Bob Jenkins were the announcers and Bill Weber was the pit reporter. Before the race, Benny and Bob came through the pit area and spent some time with each and every one of us starting that race.
We were in awe of them and no matter how bad a day I was having, I could NEVER imagine not being on my best behavior and try not looking like an a**hole on Live T.V.

To insinuate Kurt didn't know there was a camera rolling is absurd. At this stage in Kurt's career, he HAS to know that cameras are everywhere and they are rolling! His "people" have had to remind him of this a couple of times, don't you think?
Jerry Punch decided he had enough and ended the "interview", not his producer.
I'm in no way stating Kurt has to be a role model, just a decent human being and respectful to a man (doing his job) and who was there when Kurt was still in diapers. Bad day or not. $10 million dollar salary or not.

I find it hard to believe that any Drag Racer in the 80's would have given Steve Evans or Dave Mac that kind of treatment. Make that impossible to believe.
I spent a day with Steve, shooting an infomercial for McLeod clutches. I didn't want to be on film and sure didn't plan on it either.
I was scared and nervous to have dialog with Steve, with a camera rolling, while he sat in my car attempting to push in the clutch w/o straining!
It was a wonderful experience and he was cool as hell to me, even though I couldn't remember my "lines".

This isn't the first meltdown for Kurt either. There have been numerous apologies from him and his team after each one.
The question is, how many times does he have to go off on a reporter trying to do her job and have him berate her in front of everyone, and then have the balls to rip her transcript up and throw it on the ground?
How about his comment to Jamie Little? His crew? Or the episode in Phoenix that cost him his job at Roush?

How many chances do you get and how many times does a man like Roger Penske have to put out a fire that Kurt caused, instead of spending that time making their cars faster?
Miller had enough and put Brad in the 2 car.
David Reutimann needs a job and hasn't forgotten where he came from.

One more thing. A little history on Kurt and before he made the big time.
Kurt was like the rest of us at one time, trying to move up and make a name for himself. The "break" he got was when another Vegas native, Chris Trickle was tragically shot one night on a hwy in Vegas (the murderer was never caught)
Kurt got the call to take Chris's seat and he got the job done, winning the SWT title in 1999.
Not sure when the attitude started, but some of us feel Kurt would have never made it if Chris was alive.

 

[tx_trojan]

Wow. The apologists for Kurt is disturbing, to say the least.
I've raced against Kurt on ESPN2 at Winter Heat (way before he made the big time).
Benny Parsons and Bob Jenkins were the announcers and Bill Weber was the pit reporter. Before the race, Benny and Bob came through the pit area and spent some time with each and every one of us starting that race.
We were in awe of them and no matter how bad a day I was having, I could NEVER imagine not being on my best behavior and try not looking like an a**hole on Live T.V.

To insinuate Kurt didn't know there was a camera rolling is absurd. At this stage in Kurt's career, he HAS to know that cameras are everywhere and they are rolling! His "people" have had to remind him of this a couple of times, don't you think?
Jerry Punch decided he had enough and ended the "interview", not his producer.
I'm in no way stating Kurt has to be a role model, just a decent human being and respectful to a man (doing his job) and who was there when Kurt was still in diapers. Bad day or not. $10 million dollar salary or not.

I find it hard to believe that any Drag Racer in the 80's would have given Steve Evans or Dave Mac that kind of treatment. Make that impossible to believe.
I spent a day with Steve, shooting an infomercial for McLeod clutches. I didn't want to be on film and sure as hell didn't plan on it either.
I was scared and nervous as hell to have dialog with Steve, with a camera rolling, while he sat in my car attempting to push in the clutch w/o straining!
It was a wonderful experience and he was cool as hell to me, even though I couldn't remember my "lines".

This isn't the first meltdown for Kurt either. There have been numerous apologies from him and his team after each one.
The question is, how many times does he have to go off on a reporter trying to do her job and have him berate her in front of everyone, and then have the balls to rip her transcript up and throw it on the ground?
How about his comment to Jamie Little? His crew? Or the episode in Phoenix that cost him his job at Roush?

How many chances do you get and how many times does a man like Roger Penske have to put out a fire that Kurt caused, instead of spending that time making their cars faster?
Miller had enough and put Brad in the 2 car.
David Reutimann needs a job and hasn't forgotten where he came from.

One more thing. A little history on Kurt and before he made the big time.
Kurt was like the rest of us at one time, trying to move up and make a name for himself. The "break" he got was when another Vegas native, Chris Trickle was tragically shot one night on a hwy in Vegas (the murderer was never caught)
Kurt got the call to take Chris's seat and he got the job done, winning the SWT title in 1999.
Not sure when the attitude started, but some of us feel Kurt would have never made it if Chris was alive.

Man, no intention to hijack a thread, but Trickle was a man among boys. Great late model racer. Was really sad to see his final days go the way they did...

 

[paoldtimer]

Chris,

Unless something has changed in the last couple of years that is not a "Fan" area. I don't think you can buy a "hot pit" pass. You have to be with a team, or know somebody to get on that list. The times I have been in there it was always as a guest of one of the teams.

If that's not the case, somebody please let me know, but NASCAR to my knowledge has never sold passes to get into the garage during the race.

And if Kurt has spoken to Dr. Punch and the cameraman and they have put it behind them, why can't we?

Alan

You are correct, Alan. You cannot purchase "Hot" passes or Garage passes. The person filming this was in the garage area and not just any "fan" can get in there. They needed to get their passes from a team, a sponsor or directly from NASCAR.

While not defending Kurt and his obnoxious behavior, what we saw is no different than what we hear on his in-car radio transmissions every single race...and on most everyone else's radio too.

 

[paoldtimer]

so you're alan johnson and you have to pick a driver.

driver A has talent, money but a habit throughout his/her career of losing temper
& using vulgar profanity casting negative attention on himself, his team and sponsor/s.

driver B has talent, less money but has displayed nothing but true sportsmanship
and professional manner throughout his/her career.

emotion & profanity are not synonymous

I don't know about NHRA but in NASCAR as a car owner, most are not the sole selector of the driver. The sponsor has a major say in who drives the car so Alan Johnson may have "help" in selecting Driver A or B.