Kyle Busch passes Jeff Gordon

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch

There is no actual evidence that Kyle Busch is the devil or is in league with the forces of e-vil. However, on any race day during driver introductions, a wave of audio sweeps the stands with “boos” and derision when he hits the stage. Only with a tuned decibel meter can it be measured, but it is possible Kyle Busch has surpassed Jeff Gordon in the race to polarize NASCAR fans.

What is it that makes drivers like Gordon and Busch stand on the “love’em – hate’em” line? Is it that they win races? Other drivers win races but haven’t generated this kind of response. Gordon still draws the noise but is essentially running an uncharacteristic Sprint Cup winless streak. Busch has rolled into 2009 with wins in all three of the series. He has 2 Sprint Cup wins, 2 Camping World wins and 1 Nationwide win. Is it the wins…?  Is it the driving style…? Or is it something more basic that makes fans so one-sided when it comes to these two drivers…?

Could it be something as simple as one name? Jeff Gordon has a much longer history with this name. Kyle Busch has a season or two. That name, of course, is “Earnhardt”. Gordon challenged the late Earnhardt, Sr. and inspired the hatred from #3 fans. The untimely and tragic death of Dale Earnhardt did not release Jeff Gordon from being the target of the shouts and jeers. It only transferred the allegiance to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leaving Gordon to continue as the villain against the hallowed name.

Kyle Busch, however, may have taken a lot of the heat off Gordon in this respect. Despite “rubbin’ is racin” philosphy, Busch got into Dale, Jr. and spun him at Richmond with 3 laps to go and Busch becomes the “devil” in the eyes of the fans. This instance, along with a string of occurences that can be pasted together into a scenerio which rivals the Kennedy assasination conspiracies, leaves the door open for NASCAR fans to walk through and “Ta-Da” – a scoundrel is tagged.

Is it really that simple? It’s hard to tell from the viewpoint of the grassy knowl or the grandstands. Whatever the case, rivalries on the track – real or perceived – make for great drama that makes for great racing. A the end of the day, the driver in Victory Lane is likely to be secondary to what happened on lap 283.