A Pyrrhic Victory in NASCAR's Busch Series
Back in 279 B.C., the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus sent his soldiers to battle the Romans. Though the Greek army was victorious, they suffered heavy losses, leading King Pyrrhus to remark, "Another such victory over the Romans and we are undone."
Since that time, a "Pyrrhic victory" is a term used to describe a win achieved at great or excessive cost to the victor.
In other words, a victory where even the winners are losers.
I can't think of a more apt description than Pyrrhic to describe the fiasco involving the Joe Gibbs Racing team in Saturday's Busch race at the famed Milwaukee Mile.
Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin was one of a handful of drivers attempting to do double duty over the weekend, traveling between the Cup race in Sonoma, California, and the Busch race in West Allis, Wisconsin - a round-trip distance of about 3600 miles.
Because of Saturday's Cup schedule at Infineon, JGR had Busch series driver Aric Almirola practice and qualify Denny Hamlin's car during the afternoon at Milwaukee, though the plan was to have Denny Hamlin compete in the race that evening.
Almirola, a product of the Gibbs Diversity Program, put the car on the pole, his second Busch pole this season.
As the clock ticked down the minutes to the start of Saturday night's Busch race, a helicopter transporting Denny Hamlin from a nearby airport circled above the track, unable to receive clearance to land.
"We were just hovering at the race track, and either the track or NASCAR wouldn't let us land," said a frustrated Denny Hamlin.
When it became apparent that a landing zone could not be secured at the track in time for Denny Hamlin to start the race, the job fell to Almirola.
Meanwhile, the helicopter carrying Denny Hamlin flew back to the airport and Denny Hamlin received ground transportation with a police escort to the track.
You read that right, folks - a police escort.
Denny Hamlin eventually made it to the track, but Almirola was running extremely well, leading much of the early going from his pole starting spot as Denny Hamlin looked on from atop the pit box.
With cars pitting on Lap 59, Almirola was unexpectedly pulled from the vehicle and replaced by Denny Hamlin, who went on to win the race.
But according to NASCAR rules, the victory was actually credited to Almirola as the driver who was in the car at the start of the race.
It's been quite a shell game since then to try and figure out who ultimately made the decision to remove Almirola from the car - a move that did not sit well with the young driver or a majority of the fans.
Joe Gibbs Racing President J. D. Gibbs initially called the move a group decision, stating, "Our guys got together and thought about it as a group and said, 'OK, we think Denny can run well and we're fast enough to win the race.' "
But Gibbs later acknowledged that the move was a nod to the car's sponsor, Rockwell Automation, which is based in Milwaukee and had a number of employees and executives in the stands Saturday night.
Apparently someone felt that the sponsor was paying to see Cup star Denny Hamlin in the car, not Busch driver Almirola.
Whoever that someone was, he was more than happy to oblige.
But despite all the machinations that eventually put Denny Hamlin in Victory Lane, no one came out of this mess a winner.
Not Denny Hamlin, who despite his masterful driving was clearly uncomfortable with what had transpired and said he would've been happy to let Aric finish the race.
Not Joe Gibbs Racing, who ended up the heavies in the situation, appearing to put the almighty dollar ahead of common sense and fair play.
Not Rockwell Automation, now at the receiving end of a public relations boondoggle the likes of which they probably never imagined.
Not track officials at the Milwaukee Mile, who have yet to explain why there were cars parked on the helipad where Denny Hamlin's helicopter was supposed to land.
Not officials at the local police department, who I hope will have to explain to someone why they gave a police escort to a stock car driver who was late for a race.
Not the fans, who were there to enjoy a race between 43 talented drivers - not the Denny Hamlin show.
And most of all not Aric Almirola, who did everything asked of him and more and was repaid with one of life's bitter lessons.
Almirola was denied the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate his first Busch victory as he otherwise would have - with his friends, family and teammates in Victory Lane, and all the hugs and tears, the high-fives and champagne showers, the cameras clicking and the media pressing in for an interview with a first-time winner as he hoists his hard-fought trophy high in the air.
Victory will come again soon for Almirola, but it will be bittersweet. He can never have that first win back again.
For Joe Gibbs Racing, Rockwell Automation, and the rest of the players in this strange debacle, it was a Pyrrhic victory indeed.
