Can Busch mature as racer and remain true to himself? (NASCAR.com)
February 27, 2010
The wins are coming in the Nationwide Series for Kyle Busch, but he has just one victory in his past 28 starts in the Cup Series.
Kyle Busch never met Dale Earnhardt. He saw him once, when he was around 16 years old, from roughly 50 feet away. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver keeps an even greater distance between himself and any notion that he's some second coming of the Intimidator, a menacing figure in the rearview mirror who won't be hesitant to use the front fender if and when the situation calls for it.
Goodness, just the mention of the two men in the same sentence is sure to get the traditionalists hopping, and guaranteed to make certain that the inbox is overloaded with missives of discontent. Let's be very honest—Busch is no Earnhardt, no seven-time champion, no larger-than-life figure, no icon of the sport. He surely realizes that, and treads carefully, almost sheepishly, around any questions that try to link him in any way with Big E.
In the same vein, though, it's foolish to see Busch's hard-charging driving style, to see his all-or-nothing attitude, and not think a certain man with a mustache would have nodded approvingly at the sight.
Such is the enigma that is Kyle Busch, the defending champion of this weekend's Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his hometown race track. He's persona non grata among the many fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr., by virtue of the numerous on-track scrapes the two have had in recent years. And yet, from a racing standpoint, at least, you have to wonder if the same people Busch most appeals to are those who once enjoyed watching Junior's dad.
No question, there's a stark difference in terms of force of personality—despite his millions, Earnhardt was a sort of blue-collar figure who earned the adulation of the working man, something Busch has not and may never achieve. But give him a helmet and put him behind the wheel, and those differences blur.
"My biggest fan base, I guess, is the people who like the raw racer," said Busch, who has finished 14th in each of the first two events of this season. "They like the guy who wants to go out for wins. He doesn't settle for finishes. He doesn't take losing easily. Fans who don't like that are the ones who say I whine too much, or I complain, or I should live my life better, or don't live it good enough, or something like that. I have no problem living my life the way I live it. I just want to win. There's nothing wrong with wanting to win."
Winning is something Busch has done a lot of in recent years—21 combined victories on all three national series in 2008, 20 more last season, a Nationwide Series victory at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California last week. From a Cup Series perspective, though, the kid who grew up at the corner of Jones and Sahara avenues is enduring something of a rebuilding project after missing the Chase by eight points and changing crew chiefs late in 2009.
Busch has won just once at NASCAR's highest level since last spring, a Detroit Lions-like skid by his demanding standards. He may have more natural talent than anyone else in the garage area, and the relationship between him and crew chief Dave Rogers shows every sign of working. Even so, it's been too long since we've seen that bowing, pot-stirring Busch that people either love, or love to hate.
No question, the guy has championship material in him—nobody who saw him hunt down Jimmie Johnson on that final restart at Chicagoland Speedway two years would doubt that. But winning the championship is something else altogether, and it's natural to wonder if a racer with Busch's mentality can make it over the long haul of a 36-week season.
He almost did it in 2008, when he might well have won a ring had points not been reset under the Chase format, might be a champion today if a heim joint would have held at New Hampshire and an engine not failed at Dover. Almost, though, doesn't count. And you look at the way Johnson wins titles, so smooth and unflappable, knocking out top-five after top-five, and you wonder if a win-at-all-costs guy like Busch is capable of doing it his way.
Perhaps that is the next step in the maturation process of a driver who is only 24 years old. For all the comparisons to Earnhardt, it's easy to forget that the Intimidator had seasons like 1994, when he won his last championship with just one victory in the season's final 21 races, burying the competition under an avalanche of third- and fourth-place finishes.
God bless drivers who pledge to bring it to Victory Lane, or bring it home in a box. Those are the kind of people who electrify a fan base. And yet, you don't win seven titles without simply taking a good points day every now and then. Yes, it seems to run counter to what everybody, drivers and spectators alike, wants to see. But it's practical. The older he gets, the more Busch will see that bigger picture, and the more of a threat he'll become to win it all.
And yet, can Busch evolve into that more mature, more calculated championship contender, and still retain all the parts of him that are so much fun to watch? Therein lies the rub. All drivers adapt over time, and Busch will be no different. But can he be less of a hard charger, less of an all-or-nothing driver, and still keep those facets of his personality that some people love and some people hate? If he wakes up one day willing to trade 36 fifth-place finishes for a championship, will we lose the guy who smashes guitars and talks smack on the radio and plays the villain's role with more gusto than anyone since Jack Nicholson? Will we lose the very things that make Kyle Kyle?
Certainly, we hope not. A lot is changing in Kyle Busch's life—he's getting married, he's started a Camping World Truck Series team, he's trying to rebuild his Cup program, he's on the verge of being surpassed by Danica Patrick as NASCAR's preeminent foot-stomper. He is quite literally growing up right in front of us, and the Busch that emerges on the other end will likely be somewhat different than the one we know now. How different? Perhaps better suited to win a championship. And that's fine, just as long as he promises to wreck a musical instrument every now and then.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
