OK, I just can't let this rest. I've had some more time to think about Kyle's antics on Saturday night in Nashville, and it's really eating at me. Plus, I just heard an interview that Dave Moody did on Sirius NASCAR radio with Sam Bass (the artist responsible for creating the guitar), and he had some interesting things to say.
First of all, Sam said that he did NOT have any idea that Kyle was going to take his priceless, one-of-a-kind piece of artwork and smash it into bits when he presented the guitar to him in the winners circle, and he's heartbroken over it. It wasn't until AFTER that fact that Kyle approached Sam and the Gibson reps and said something along the lines of, "I meant no disrespect and I hope you don't take it personally." Sam said that since it was after the fact, and the deed was already done (ain't nothing bringing back that guitar now) he decided to take the "high road" and not cause a scene.
When asked more about the guitar and artwork, Sam said that "creating that guitar is like raising a child." He said that "you put time into it, mold it into your vision, and hope that people like and respect it when it's done." He actually said that the guitar was LIKE HIS OWN SON to him! Kyle Busch killed Sam Bass' kid on national television, and smiled about it afterwards!! Sam went on to say that the destroyed guitar was the 30th consecutive guitar he'd created for the Nashville Superspeedway, and that each one was special to him.
To put this into perspective (at least in my mind), what Kyle Busch did would be like Nick Lidstrom going to take the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman after the Wings win on Tuesday, and immediately slamming it on the ice several times in front of 20,000 screaming fans, his team and the rest of the world watching on TV. Or like Helio Castrenevez smashing the Borg Warner trophy into the famed bricks at Indy after taking his swig of milk in the winner's circle. Sam Bass mentioned that Sports Illustrated named the Gibson Les Paul Custom, given out to the winner at Nashville, "one of the most sought after trophies in all of sports." (I looked for the article online but haven't found it yet - but I don't doubt that it is.) I'm sure it's somewhere in the Top 10 behind the "Big 6": The Stanley Cup (NHL), the Borg Warner Trophy (Indy), the Vince Lombardi Trophy (NFL), the Larry O'Brien Trophy (NBA), the Commisioner's Trophy (MLB), and the FIFA World Cup Trophy (World Cup Soccer.)
I guess I just can't believe the audacity of Kyle. In an interview after the race he actually had the balls to tell a reporter that the whole thing was "pre-arranged" and that Sam Bass and the folks at Gibson had bought into his stunt ahead of time - which was a complete lie. Sam specifically said that had he KNOWN that something like this was about to take place, he would have put together a cheap replica guitar that looked just like the real thing, and was actually "scored" in the back (allowing it to better 'explode' on impact,) so that the original piece of art wouldn't be destroyed. Obviously, that didn't happen, and the trophy -estimated to be worth more than $30,000 - is history. It's probably on a band saw right now at the Joe Gibbs garage, being cut up into yet smaller pieces so Kyle can "give a piece of that guitar to all my crew members." Thanks a lot, Kyle...I really appreciate it.
I don't even know what else to say....
The bottom line: Kyle Busch is definitely NOT a Guitar Hero in my book! (oh...and he looked like a pussy on his first swing with the guitar too. It didn't even put a dent in it!! LOL!)
