I suspect this scene will be happening in a hotel somewhere tonight. “Yeah, I’d like to get a room for one night.” “Uh, my name, Butz. Seymour Butz.” Kyle Busch’s mug is going to be hard to hide, but he’d better do what he can to mask his identity until he gets of Virginia after his fender bender with Dale Earnhardt Jr. late in the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 in Richmond, Virginia. The anger I’m seeing is just about frying my computer.

You can’t blame Junior Nation for being mad. Junebug looked like he was a winner after Denny Hamlin’s tire went flat. Up until the point of impact, it was a good old-fashioned bump ‘n’ grind short track drag race between Earnhardt and Busch. Then it happened. The “18″ and “88″ collided, sending Earnhardt spinning off into another disappointing finish, and opening the door to victory for Clint Bowyer, who picked up his 2nd career NASCAR Sprint Cup win.

Everybody has their own opinion about the “incident” and I’ve got my own, which I will keep to myself. Let me just say it was a bummer to see two of the best cars in the field (Hamlin and Junior) finish outside the top 5 after the night they had.

Earlier today, I said it would be either Hamlin or Junior that would win. For about 373 laps, Hamlin was proving me right. Everything Denny needed from his car in terms of a set-up he had. It was setting up to be a feel good story that would have only been eclipsed by Earnhardt ending his victory drought: the local boy wins near his hometown of Chesterfield, Virginia. Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford were simpatico, and then that danged tire went down, opening a Pandora’s box for what would happen next.

I find it a little hard to be angry at Denny, but it’s too bad he didn’t get off the track for new tires once he knew the tire was going down. At the end of the day, I think he would have ended up at the same place. Hamlin has been hot up until now, but there’s no doubt we were exposed to Denny’s Achilles’ heel.  The #11 FedEx has this maddening tendency to beat itself with silly mistakes. Don’t get me wrong, the tire wasn’t his fault, but not getting off the track sooner was- whether it was Hamlin’s decision or Ford’s.

Give props to Clint Bowyer for the win. Bowyer’s finish serves as the new “Exhibit A” as to why one should never give up. The #07 Chevy hung around in the spirit and tradition of David Pearson to emerge a victor. Given how things played out, it seems fitting that a guy that nobody seems to truly dislike comes out with the win.

My “Rocky Balboa” Award will be shared by Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. Gordon started 43rd, but fought and clawed his way towards the front- giving him a decent end to what was a horrid weekend for his team. Harvick did a great job of hanging tough and staying hungry, even though it seemed apparent his car had recurring issues.

In addition to be bummed for Hamlin and Earnhardt, I was also bummed for Patrick Carpentier. He qualified well and was doing a good job of gaining on-the-job experience until he got collected in a big-time way in what started out as the Dave Blaney-J.J. Yeley incident. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

We saw good racing tonight- it’s too bad it finished like this. While I lean more towards a “race incident” opinion on the Earnhardt-Busch affair, there can be no question Kyle Busch has found himself on the same unfortunate path his older brother Kurt took a way years back. After tonight, I’m quite sure his list of detractors has increased exponentially, and further mars the reputation of one of NASCAR’s most talented young drivers. Give credit to Junior for handling the post-race T.V. interview with grace, there’s no question his entire demeanor was heavy with disappointment. Nobody would have blamed him for running over to Busch and popping him, but that’s never been his style, and I’m proud of him for it.

Wouldn’t it have been cool if Mark Martin had won? Whatever he’s got in that car he ran in Phoenix and this place, he needs to bottle that up!

It also would have been fun for Bobby Labonte to pull out a win in the “Speed Racer” Dodge. 

As for Busch, well…..for my part I like his driving and I don’t think he’s half the jerk some think he is. BUT tonight’s incident won’t help his case or mine.

For every driver and fan disappointed by tonight’s finish, there is always the new hope brought by the promise of another week at the “Dark Lady” of Darlington. If it goes next week like it’s been going lately- it’s gonna be a show and a half. 

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