NASCAR: Will The Real Kyle Busch Please Stand Up?
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Hero or villain?
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That distinction seems to have become blurred when fans think about Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Kyle Busch, lately. In fact, NASCAR fans are so fixated on cheering on Busch for his inspiring comeback from his leg injury at Daytona that they seem to forget about all the deplorable things the younger Busch driver has done during his time in The Sprint Cup Series.
One example of Busch getting hot behind the wheel, was when he locked up with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond in 2008. The two drivers fought vigorously for the lead in the closing laps of the race, with Busch just getting a slight edge going into the corners every lap or so. With three to go, Busch decided to make contact with Jr. heading into the corner, which effectively put Jr. in the wall and robbed him of his first win as a Hendrick Motorsports driver.
This leads to an important question. Why would fans want to cheer and worship a guy that couldn’t even race clean that night? He had a great opportunity to put on a show for NASCAR fans that night and try to win the race cleanly, but instead he choose to take out NASCAR’s most popular driver and rob the fans of a clean finish.
Obviously every driver has moments like this but some might say that Busch has more than most.
Then there’s the time when Bush went Nuclear in Nashville. Busch won the race at Nashville Speedway that night, but proceeded to smash his guitar trophy in victory lane. The move left many fans angry. Sure, it was his trophy to do what he wanted with, but you would think he would have a little more respect for the trophy that signified the race that he just won. A trophy that dozens of other drivers were fighting for the chance to win that night.
Finally, there’s the time that Busch and Ron Hornaday tangled during a fall race at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch’s car wasn’t damaged that badly, but instead of going to pit road and trying to salvage a good finish, Busch decided to push the issue with Hornaday and punt him into the wall during the caution.
What made the situation even worse was the fact that Ron Hornaday was competing for the championship in the Camping World Truck Series that season and had virtually no chance of recovering his point lead after the incident with Busch. In other words, Busch cost another driver a championship all because of an accident that really wasn’t anyone’s fault.
In the end, it’s all up to the fans of this sport. Do you want to cheer for a guy just because he’s doing well after an injury that could have ruined his career? Do you want to join the other bandwagon fans and cheer for this this driver? Do you want to root for someone you once hated? No matter what your answer, it’s you that has to look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day once you decide which side of the Busch fence you fall on.
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