NASCAR Knucklehead?
Written by George Katinger · October 30, 2004
Let’s see, such a broad topic and so many potential subjects. Jimmie Spencer? Kurt Busch? Robby Gordon? None of the above. My knucklehead of the week is my former favorite driver Rusty Wallace.
kansascity.com: Penske drivers still not big on teamwork
racingjunky.com: WALLACE VS NEWMAN: NASCAR TEAMMATES ??
thestate.com: Penske teammates hope to forget tiff
What has Rusty done to earn a place among such esteemed company? His antics with teammate Ryan Newman after last weeks race from Martinsville were amusing at first. Reading his “take” on his anger is laughable.
For those who don’t remember, Rusty was bumped and passed by teammate Ryan on a late race restart, costing Rusty 2nd place, and in Rusty’s view a chance at a win. What compounds all this is Rusty’s complaining about Newman’s lack of “Teamwork”.
Teamwork, at least in Rusty’s interpretation, means that everyone is there for his benefit. He is the focus of attention and all should labor for his gain and glory. Let’s look at what really happened and who should take the heat.
At the restart Rusty attempted to pass leader Jimmy Johnson on the OUTSIDE. Brilliant Rusty, this on a track where hardly anyone can pass on the outside unless it’s a back marker 20 laps down who will LET you pass on the outside. And when teammate Newman wouldn’t Let Wallace back in line, and was the actual cause of the bump, Rusty gets testy! I guess the fact that Newman is in the “Chase” and has bigger fish to fry than Wallace’s winning a meaningless race never occured to “teammate” Wallace.
Like I said, it’s always about Rusty. With Newman on pole this week and with a long shot chance of still claiming the Chase, will Rusty help his teammate if the opportunity develops? Or will he give him the “Bump You” very much move we all expect? What do you think?
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Interesting… in watching Happy Hour this morning (before I saw this posting) they interviewed Rusty and I found the way he talked about the car interesting. He spoke about all the changes that were made on the car in the first person: “I changed the shocks, I changed the spring rubbers, I, I.” Of course Rusty meant that he worked with his crew to make those changes, but most drivers will always talk about their crew and crew chief when an interviewer asks them where the car “is at.” It’s an interesting view into the mind of Rusty and perhaps supportive of the “it’s all about me” mindset you mention above.