NASCAR: Busch Not Popular, But Winning!!
May 12, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
A massive chorus of boos erupted as Kyle Busch climbed out of his Toyota to take a victory bow after Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.
The Sprint Cup points leader has won two of the past three races and notched five consecutive top-10 finishes with an aggressive style and a brashly defiant attitude.
His rise has been met by vociferous crowds, evoking the passionate responses that once greeted Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.
And just as those champions did, Busch has learned to embrace the hate.
“I think if (Busch) had his choice, he wouldn’t be the villain,” Gordon said after finishing third Saturday. “I know Kyle’s a good guy. He just needs to go with it. Having a love-hate relationship with the fans is not a bad thing. I heard more noise for him tonight than ever for him. All I can remember when I came into this sport is Dale Earnhardt getting a lot of boos and cheers, and all he cared about was about how much noise they made.”
Busch seemed to revel in the vitriol. He feigned wiping away a tear ("It was for my mom,” he joked later) and cupped a hand to his ear as if he were a pro wrestler beckoning for more booing. When a crewmember from Earnhardt Jr.’s team rushed toward the pit wall to join in the jeering, Busch made an obscene gesture.
“I don’t care. I’m here to race. I’m here to win,” Busch said. “If I win, it just makes ‘em more upset and crying on their way home.”
His new team loves everything about him, from his edgy personality to a newfound swagger and the aggressive driving style that’s helped him to eight victories this season spanning NASCAR’s top three series.
“I like the balance that he has. I don’t have any problem with it,” crew chief Steve Addington said. “He fits in with our race team and his personality fits with this race team. That’s all that I’m worried about. I think that he fits in with the group of guys that’s on this 18 car - they are very passionate about what they do.
“He’s the same way about his driving and wanting to win trophies.”
Busch has the steadfast support of his new team and doesn’t have to worry about angering anyone at Joe Gibbs Racing with his temperamental behaviour.
“This is a lot of attention he hasn’t had in years past,” said team president J.D. Gibbs. “As he kind of learns and grows with that, I think we’ll be in good shape. He knows we’re behind him no matter what we have, we’re going to support him.”
That was evident last week after he wrecked Earnhardt with three laps to go at Richmond as the two raced for the win.
