Being A Parent Can Break Your Heart
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 2:12pm CDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
If you don’t have heartfelt sympathy for Rusty Wallace, you must be a robot.
While most of us sit comfortably in our location of choice while we watch ESPN’s Busch Series coverage, Rusty is atop the track providing the lap by lap commentary that most of us have come to enjoy. I’ll admit being able to listen to the “Doc” all day long, and while I was skeptic at first I’ve been proven wrong as Rusty has made the jump from the track to the booth.
Where the toughness of the situation comes in, is the on track performance of Rusty Wallace Incorporated. I can’t fathom the pain that has to be running through Rusty every race as Steven ends up wrecked. Whether his fault or his own, Steven’s struggles have been dramatic. At times he shows his true potential, only to end up in the fence. It tough to watch almost any youngster with that much potential go through, let alone one with such a family tradition and ties directly to that coveted Cup.
While Rusty maintains composure, I don’t know how he does it. It heart has to be breaking inside as he watches his son grow on the track. Where he finds the strength, I’ll never know, even as a parent myself. It’s one thing to watch your child not be “good” on the little league team, or pee-wee football. But to watch them struggle every week like this is a completely different level, and throw in national TV to boot, is something unfathomable unless you’re in his shoes.
Sure fathers have watched their son’s go through the same thing, and still do today at this level. But to be responsible for also broadcasting your son’s struggles to the world as they happen is something quite different that standing on a pit box or the roof of a hauler and watching. Not that that doesn’t hurt as well, but at least they aren’t having to commentate it to the world while it happens.
It came to light on NASCAR Now yesterday that Rusty Wallace is prevented through his contract with ESPN/ABC from starting a Cup team. He wants to be in Cup pretty bad, so it seems, to the extent that he is considering selling majority ownership of his team so that he can’t hold it back. Then again, he “could” do like Evernham has done with the #10, and in this situation just not be the majority owner of the Cup team.
However, this doesn’t have any bearing to whom is driving on the track. Whether Steve is driving for RWI, or anyone else, nothing can take that father/son bond away.
I have no doubt of Stevens capabilities. Kenny will be the first to tell you that the kid has more raw talent than anyone else in the family. The difference is how that raw talent is harnessed into results, and that’s where they are now. Harnessing that raw talent into on track results. It’s something that may take some time, but it will come or the family will die trying. The family’s commitment to Steven is remarkable, and it spans across them all. They want him to succeed, they want him to win. I can only imagine the future, and Rusty calling Steve’s first Busch win. Then someday, once again, maybe a father will call his son’s victory in the Cup Series as well.
Filed Under: Busch Series, Nascar, Nextel Cup
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