Bob Pockrass talks with Speed's Race Hub about Kurt Busch

SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub Talks to Bob Pockrass about Kurt Busch

   Bob Pockrass, NASCAR writer for The Sporting News, came onto the set of NASCAR Race Hub this evening to chat about his challenging interview with Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch.
   Busch’s actions towards Pockrass resulted in a NASCAR suspension that lasts through June 13, along with an addition to his probation until Dec. 31. The following are quotes from his interview with host Steve Byrnes.


   Steve Byrnes: Did you feel Kurt’s tone was threatening? Did you feel that his words were abusive?

   Bob Pockrass: I was not threatened by him. Athletes and the media often don’t see eye to eye, and I just thought it was one of those situations. I hope that NASCAR’s penalties (aren’t) necessarily just for what he said to me, but to keep other incidents from happening, and possibility from worse incidents from happening. Again, I thought it was just one of those media-athlete tiffs with no big harm.


   Byrnes: Bob, to your point about the totality of Kurt’s behavior, you’ve worked in the sport a long time. I think you, myself, a lot of us have witnessed – I wouldn’t call it hostile relations to the media - but this is not his first run in with the media.

   Pockrass: No it’s not, and to be fair, there have been times when I have asked questions and he’s been like, ‘Ah… this is like People Magazine and not racing. This is not the first time I’ve heard that from Kurt. Again, we just don’t see eye to eye on maybe what’s news or how things should be viewed. That happens. Kurt, obviously, has a little bit of trouble handling these types of situations.


   Byrnes: You know, Bob, you have taken some criticism some people feel like you were adding fuel to the fire. As just a personal aside, I thought you asked some legitimate questions, being on probation, does it affect the way you race?

   Pockrass: I’ll agree with you, Steve, I appreciate that. Especially because Kevin Harvick has said in the past that he’s felt like he’s kind of had a hand tied behind his back when he’s been on probation. I want to say Brad Keselowski may have said a similar thing. So I was kind of curious whether Kurt felt that way, especially with the way he said Justin Allgaier was racing him. Look, we all try to be professional and we try to treat drivers with respect. But, you have to ask the question at a time when it’s pertinent. This was the pertinent time to ask it. Just because some has a history of having some confrontational moments with the media, that doesn’t mean they don’t get asked those questions any more. If so, we would just be asking all the hard questions to guys like Justin Allgaier and Jeff Gordon. Nobody gets a free pass.


   Byrnes: James Finch (Busch’s car owner) was quoted again today saying that they were going to have a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting – his words not mine – with Kurt. And he said, ‘It’s simple. He’s got to to quit wrecking race cars, and be nice to people. In your opinion, do you think he will continue – that being James Finch – with Kurt Busch after Pocono?

   Pockrass: First off, I haven’t talked to James because of the situation I am in – in this deal. So I don’t know exactly what he’s thinking. But, I think he will. I think if he did want Kurt, Kurt would already be out the door.

NASCAR's Hall of Fame has Cure for the Common Summer

   The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte has several opportunities designed specifically designed for kids this summer:


   FIRST 1000 KIDS IN FREE WITH PAYING ADULT - Begins Friday, June 8
   The first 1000 kids (12 and younger) receive FREE admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame with a paying adult courtesy of Coca-Cola. One child per paying adult.

   FREE SIMULATOR RIDE OFFER - Begins Friday, June 8
   Bring any Coca-Cola product to the NASCAR Hall of Fame box office throughout the summer and receive a FREE SIMULATOR RIDE with the purchase of a general admission ticket. Offer valid through August 31, 2012.

   WRFX Father’s Day Dad vs. Kid Video Game Challenge - Sunday, June 17
   Don't miss this showdown! Enter our video game bracket to play for a chance to win a VIP trip to Talladega (tickets & hotel) and a Family Membership to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Other prizes include Memberships, souvenirs and more. Jeff Kent from WRFX will be at the Hall of Fame from noon until 2 p.m. for the festivities. To register, listen to WRFX 99.7FM in Charlotte or visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 17.

  

Jimmy Spencer: 'Kurt's suspension is long overdue'

NASCAR on Monday suspended Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, until June 13 following a confrontation with a reporter after Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway.

Busch, who already was on probation following an incident at Darlington Raceway last month, will sit out this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

Jimmy Spencer, SPEED analyst and former driver, offers his perspective on Busch's situation and the resulting punishment:

"Kurt Busch's suspension is long overdue, and that is coming from someone who learned his lesson after sitting out a race for punching him a few years ago.

"Kurt has been given plenty of chances to right his wrongs and put himself back on the right path, but he has failed to take advantage of any of those opportunities.

"NASCAR had to do something to restore a sense of respect toward the sport on Kurt's behalf because he seems to consistently flaunt his disrespect for everything and everyone in this sport. Maybe sitting out and watching the race from the pit box or his couch will wake him up to how great he really has it.

"If Kurt is under the microscope, it is because he has put himself there by acting as if the rules don't apply to him. But the rules apply to everyone, and if you cannot treat your fellow competitors, crew members and members of the media in a respectable manner, you do not deserve to race. He's a hell of a driver, but until he gets his temper under control, he has no business in a race car.

"Speaking from experience, I can say that my suspension was extremely upsetting to me, but it made me a better person off the track. That's what Kurt needs now, and I hope this helps him. It seems to have straightened his little brother, Kyle, out, and I hope the same is true for Kurt."

Jeff Gordon: "We need wins."

   Jeff Gordon clearly had a car on Sunday that could contend for the win at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and you could hear the disappointment in his voice when he described afterwards how another chance at a victory slipped away.

   Gordon spoke to members of the media immediately after the race:

   Gordon: The fastest car doesn’t always win the race. And we’re sitting here in 13^th or whatever; it’s silly.

   Q: AS BAD AS YOUR MISFORTUNE WAS, IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO WORK OUT AND YOU WOULD BENEFIT FROM IT.

   Gordon: Until that debris caution? Yeah, I can’t wait to see that debris on TV. I’d like to see it because I certainly never saw it. I’m not going to make any comments until I see what they’re reasoning for it was. I don’t know who you blame if there really wasn’t much out there because all the media has been talking about all week long is oh, there’s no cautions, there’s no cautions. It used to be debris cautions. So, who do you blame that on?

   Q: IS IT FRUSTRATING BECAUSE YOU WERE IN THE LEAD AND THEN YOU HAD THE TIRE PROBLEM AND YOU WERE MAKING YOUR WAY BACK?

   Gordon: Ultimately, we put ourselves in this position to get his finish. So, that’s very frustrating. We’ve had things out of our control this year. And I’m not really sure what happened. But obviously something happened. And then I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. But we definitely had a loose left rear. It didn’t go on right to begin with and the left-rear tire-changer knew that. And so when I started to complain about it, we knew that there might be an issue there and there was. So, in some ways we got fortunate today. I could have stayed out there and wrecked because it wasn’t really vibrating. It was getting real loose.

   Q: WERE RESTARTS AS CRITICAL AS THEY LOOKED?

   Gordon: You know, it was the greasiest restarts that I’ve ever felt here. There was just zero-grip for the first three, four, or five laps. So you really couldn’t even race one another on a restart because you were so out of control. And there’s a lot of rubber laid down on the race track and then the way the rubber on the tires matched up to it after you got going there was horrendous. Other than that, the tire was awesome. I really liked it. We ran great with it and the restarts were definitely hairy.

   Q: YOU’VE HAD SO MANY FRUSTRATING MOMENTS THIS SEASON. DOES THIS ONE TAKE THE CAKE? OR HAVE YOU JUST HAD SO MUCH CAKE THAT IT’S ALL THE SAME?

   Gordon: It’s always more frustrating when you’ve got a car that can win; and you show it by going up there and taking the lead. We don’t care about finishing top 15 or top 10 right now. That does nothing for us. We need wins.

Anger issues resurface for Kurt Busch

DOVER, Del. -- Kurt Busch, who's already in trouble with NASCAR, was at it again Saturday at Dover.

Busch, who was put on probation by NASCAR after he did a post-race burnout in Ryan Newman's pit stall at Darlington in May, was asked by Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass if the probation had an effect on how he raced Justin Allgaeir in Saturday's 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway.

"(Probation) refrains me from not beating the --- out of you right now, because you ask me stupid questions," Busch said in an interview that was also filmed by Speed. "But since I'm on probation, I suppose that's improper to say as well. If you could talk about racing things, we could talk about racing things, Bob."

Pockrass replied that the question was about racing.

"It's not racing," Busch said. "You're in this just to start stuff. That's all you're out here for."

It's not the first time Busch has had a run-in with the media. He had two confrontations with reporters at last season's Richmond race and was also seen on video verbally abusing ESPN reporter Dr. Jerry Punch. -- David Scott

Global Rallycross course at Charlotte gets a fix

   The frontstretch jump planned to be used as part of the Global Rallycross race set to debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway was removed from qualifying runs Friday night out of fears cars bottoming out upon landing could damage the track surface.

    Several officials involved in the competition confirmed to The Observer on Saturday participants were notified the jump would be reconfigured for Saturday night's competition to avoid any potential damage to the track..

   Charlotte Motor Speedway is hosting the first race of the 2012 series schedule.

    The race is still expected to begin on schedule later Saturday night after the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

    Global Rallycross, a mix of motorsports and action sports featuring action sports stars such as Brian Deegan, Ken Block, Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust, competes on a custom-built, three-quarter-mile course constructed along the frontstretch and pit road of the 1.5-mile speedway.

    The course features hairpin turns, crossover jumps and chicanes and water features all designed to test drivers’ focus and control.

   Photo of original jump configuration, courtesy of Ford Racing:

  

Is your name on the Brickyard 400?

   Country music stars, The Band Perry, visited Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend to announce the finalists for Crown Royal's Your Hero's Name Here" contest, which will name the July 29 race.

   The five finalists are : Dale Beatty, veteran and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Purple Heart Homes from Statesville, N.C.; Lindsey Marquez, ICU nurse from Sun Prairie, Wis.; Curtiss Shaver, Fire Lieutenant and EMT from Troy, Ala.; John Thomas, Deputy Sheriff from Sarasota, Fla.; and Brandon Veatch, veteran and Purple Heart recipient from Bloomfield, Ind.  

   In addition to having their name on all race signage, TV broadcasts and apparel, the winner will experience a true VIP experience – from waving the green flag to start the race to delivering the trophy in Victory Lane.

    Adult consumers can log on to Facebook.com/CrownRoyal and click the “Crown Your Hero” tab to vote for the hero they think is most deserving of naming rights to the race. Voting runs through June 28. The grand prize winner will be announced in early July.