NASCAR Cup Series

Busch needs to turn setback into positive

Published May. 25, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Jeff Hammond

By now I am sure race fans have heard that Kyle Busch was cited Tuesday for driving 128 mph in a 45 mph zone. Obviously, this is a public relations mess that he really didn’t need right now, especially since he was beginning to win some of the fans over.

Maybe, like some of the mixed martial arts (MMA) and the WWE fighters have done with the bullying issue, Kyle should offer to do a public service announcement about speeding and the responsibilities of behind the wheel of a car.

Let’s face it, there are a lot of young drivers out there that have just recently gotten their driver's license. They may want to emulate and be like Kyle, but now might think they can get by with something like this.

So I think he owes it to his fans and the young kids out there that are influenced by his actions to come out and do something so that a positive comes out of his action. The message has to be clear that speeding is only acceptable on the racetrack and not on the road.

Kyle’s brother, Kurt, ran into some trouble a few years ago and he did some public service announcements to help rectify that mistake.

To me, it’s not about what Kyle did, but it’s more about what he could have done. In the end, he has to be responsible to step up and say he broke the law, he’s not above the law and he respects the law.

I don’t see any of this affecting him on the racetrack. I believe he is the kind of individual that can separate personal issues from business. I don’t think these kinds of things affect him. Trust me, Kyle isn’t the first race-car driver, nor the last race-car driver to receive a speeding ticket.

I just think we would be remiss if we didn’t realize that people like Junior Johnson, NASCAR Hall of Famer, Darrell Waltrip, future Hall of Famer and on and on, all had brushes with the law somewhere along the way. Let’s face it, we all know Junior Johnson outran the law many times running moonshine until he was caught and sent to prison.

Go ask DW. He can tell you many stories of not only being chased by the law, but actually shot at by the law before he settled down. The stories are funny. Well, let me say, they are funny now, back when they were happening, not so much.

Look, no one is perfect, not even the legends of our sport. They were able to rebound and overcome it. Kurt got into trouble with the law in Phoenix and was able to redeem himself, so there’s nothing saying Kyle can’t do the same.

It’s just the path Kyle chooses to go down. I just thank the Lord that no one else was involved and got injured or worse. It was just a momentary lapse of judgment, that’s all. You simply have to take the approach of live and learn from your mistakes.

Ever wonder what it's like to lead the field to the green flag of a NASCAR race? Wypall wipers is offering the opportunity to ride in the pace car during the Wypall 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix. Check out Wypall's Facebook page for more details.