Kyle Busch drives attention to NASCAR
The folks at Mars are going to get their sponsorship money's worth this season.
Why, you ask?
Because Kyle Busch, the driver the candy-maker spends millions of dollars to sponsor, is going to make this NASCAR season fun.
He's also likely to make it scary at times.
He's likely to get some folks angry - very angry.
And for darn sure, he's not to let things get boring.
Look no further than last weekend at the high banks of the Daytona International to see what sort of havoc Busch can cause when things are going well.
For starters, Kyle Busch, at 22, seems to be willing to say what he thinks without, perhaps, thinking. And, if his car is running well, like it was Sunday when he led 86 laps, he'll drive the car wherever he wants, without, perhaps, thinking.
"I watched the Nationwide race on Saturday, I saw him plenty of times on Sunday," said Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. "He doesn't hold a steady wheel. In saying that, I didn't seem him turning anybody around and I didn't see him cause anybody to get turned around."
And that's a good thing especially for a sport that has been knocked for having drivers who lay back and wait until the very end of the race to, well, race.
Not Busch.
When he led the race, he was way out there. When he fell back, he zigged and zagged, darted and dashed, until he was back in front. At one point, he even went way down on the track, below the yellow line, to get to the front.
"Every driver has a steering wheel and pedal and they can do whatever they want up until the point that they're risking other people," Newman said.
"Obviously, I didn't see him do that."
Kyle and his brother Kurt are not the most popular drivers on the NASCAR series by any stretch.
Kurt Busch tangled with Tony Stewart a week before the Daytona 500. And, he's had enough squabbles on the track to earn a legion of haters. Kyle, too.
Reader Doug Thompson recently wrote noting there were several issues that have led to a decline in interest on his part, including, "Too many drivers with the last name Busch."
In some ways, Busch has a lot to prove this year. He drove well for Hendrick Motorsports, but always seemed to be the odd-man out in a stable that included squeaky clean champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Then, in the midst of contract negotiations, he was dumped for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Few could argue with Hendrick's decision on many levels. Earnhardt is by far the sport's most popular driver. At Daytona last weekend each of the trailers selling Earnhardt souvenirs had people standing 30 deep, where those selling other drivers' items had tumbleweeds blowing by.
Busch, who was raised in Las Vegas, landed at Joe Gibbs Racing with a reputation of being an outlaw, cocky, and maybe hard to control.
People said that about Darrell Waltrip when he broke in, too. They called him "Jaws" because he talked so much, and was willing to go after the leaders of the sport to get attention.
Waltrip proved on the track he had the mettle to back up his words. Busch is still working on that end of the equation. He made the Chase for the Championship last season and has four wins to his credit.
He may never get to Waltrip's level on the track, though it will be interesting to watch as he develops as a driver.
He's got the talk down, though.
Listen to Busch chatter on his radio during a race and he's yapping about other drivers and questioning yellow flags for debris.
After Saturday's Nationwide Series race won by Tony Stewart, in which he finished second, Busch held nothing back.
He was asked about comments Martin Truex made after the race where he reportedly said Busch drove like a girl.
"What else you going to do, man?," Busch said. "Shoot, he's pushing me through the tri oval, wanting to spin me out. I'm sorry I saved it and kept it in front of him. Grow up, Bud. What do you want me to do, pull over? Next question."
Grab a bag of M&Ms folks, this is season going to get entertaining thanks to Kyle Busch.
He might be just the ticket to get people talking about stock car racing again.
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