I'm not going to talk about driving talent here. Thousands of people nationwide have the ability to compete at this level. Only a few ever get the chance. Clearly the talent is there for anyone at this level.
What is key to winning is something bigger. It is all about who people are and if the driver is mentally weak then the team needs masterful leadership to lead around that driver as they mature. We can talk about many examples of this through the years. One of the most famous is
@DaleJr who openly admits he was not as mature as he could have been when he got some big opportunities. But, he still won a lot of races because he has strong leadership and a good team around him as he grew in confidence.
When I first met
@KyleBusch running Busch Series
@TeamHendrick, he was a punk. Looking back, I think he would probably agree. He is a heck of a driver and he grew up a ton through the years. Tough slog when you're living an overly blessed life. You have to work hard for the gains when you don't 'have' to do it. Kyle has done some hard work through the years.
I credit Michael Jordan for helping make
@dennyhamlin one of the most mentally tough racers today. No doubt that Coach Gibbs played a role in that as well. I've never been a
@BubbaWallace fan and it has nothing to do with the noose at
@TALLADEGA.
It has a lot to do with not knowing enough (as Herman suggests) about the people or situation.
Remember when
@Kaepernick7 kneeled and the interviews that followed? Kaepernick failed because he didn't have a clear message. He could have led people out of the racism by respecting the country and providing a clear message of his grievances. He didn't. He created a bigger mess and those who refuse to think for themselves followed him right into it.
Sadly, Bubba did the same thing with the Talladega deal. He needed to speak clarity about the situation and that didn't happen. He lost a lot of respect but it had little to do with who he is/was. It had to do with his maturity and his lack of confidence. He really needed help and the situation merited it because he was through into a social political hot mess that would have been very difficult for most to navigate.
Denny has also matured a ton. Their confidence is a natural outgrowth of that maturity.
The tough part about looking from the outside in is you see what you see and nothing else. Based on the way other drivers talk about Bubba makes me what to like him. Contrast that to the way everyone felt when
@mattkenseth fenced
@joeylogano who I feel like is probably a nice guy off the track.
Now look at people like
@bobbylabonte, Carl Edwards,
@JimmieJohnson,
@KenSchrader and others who just played their cards in a more mature way from the beginning. Maybe because they were well-guided or because they were just more confident and didn't need to "try" so hard to make it work. People never said, "wow, they need to grow up."
My point is that it is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and some of these guys come in a different stages in their maturity. And, they are all presented with different challenges to overcome along the way. Winning the Brickyard will likely be a big boost for Bubba both in maturity and confidence.