Bayne, Scott trying to move past Talladega scuffle

NEWTON - When there's a disagreement on the racetrack, drivers have a few options in how they handle it.

There's the straightforward approach: Driver A talks to Driver B and lays it all out, letting he or she know how they feel exactly. Once it's talked out, both move on.

There's the payback approach: Driver A is upset, but doesn't talk to Driver B. He or she then seeks retribution on the track at some other time.

There's also the social media approach: Driver A is upset, and again doesn't talk to Driver B. He or she takes to Twitter or Facebook to air their frustrations.

After Trevor Bayne made contact with Brian Scott in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race last Saturday at Talladega - setting off a 'Big One” - Scott had harsh words for Bayne, telling ESPN 'you can't fix stupidity.” He took the first approach in handling things, talking to Bayne the next day before the Sprint Cup race.

'I'm a no bull(crap) kind of straightforward guy. I don't go around and say things behind people's backs that I wouldn't say right to them,” Scott said. 'So, when Trevor Bayne and I talked, I went right up to him and I said, ‘You know, I think you race like an idiot. And every time you're around me you put us both in jeopardizing situations, and it seems like more times than not it ends up in contact and one of us going around. There's no need for that.'

'I think people appreciate when you're just honest with them, even if it's brutally honest.”

To his credit, Bayne owned up to making the mistake during the race, not shying away from what happened. Both attended the NASCAR Nationwide Series test at Iowa Speedway on Tuesday, and said the two were putting it behind them.

The two talked after the driver's meeting, and Bayne said sometimes situations like these are the result of an escalation of incidents that have happened in the past. But, like Scott said, he was happy to get things talked out and put it in the past.

'You would rather talk about things and tell each other how you really feel and what you felt like happened and get it behind you, rather than not say what you want to and hold that in and hold a grudge,” Bayne said. 'You don't want to do that and take it out on the racetrack. It's pretty obvious how we both felt about everything (Saturday) and in the past, so for us we just wanted to talk it out and get that out of our system.”

It would be easy to let an incident, particularly one that takes a driver out of a race, consume their thoughts and become a distraction.

Both Scott and Bayne said to compete at this level, competitors have to be able to let it go, or things could spiral out of control.

'You have to have a short memory in racing,” Scott said. 'If you let everything eat at you and really think about it and let it consume your life, you won't be able to focus on what's really important. I really try not to let it eat at me. I try to put those things at bay. I try to have a civil conversation and put it behind us so I can do what I need to do to continue to work with my RCR team.”

A big part of dealing with it, Bayne said, is being honest with the role each individual played.

But more than just admitting fault, it's learning from mistakes made that will be the biggest problem-solver. Taking the first approach to dealing with conflict, and using it as a lesson, is key to the maturation process.

'If I made a mistake and blamed it one someone else, I'd carry it for a long time and the team guys are going to look at me like I'm stupid because they know the truth about everything,” Bayne said. 'If you made a mistake, you admit it. If someone else makes a mistake, you hope they admit so you can learn from it.

'I thought last year I had a couple times where I did stuff that I learned from. At first my pride wanted me to say it was somebody else's fault, but I learned from that. We have to eliminate mistakes, but learn from them and move forward.”

The Nationwide series is off this week, and returns May 18 at Iowa Speedway for the Get to Know Newton 250.

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