Why I am becoming a big Kyle Busch fan

May 9, 5:53 PMDetroit NASCAR ExaminerJosh Lobdell

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#18 Kyle Busch Getty Images/Sam Greenwood

The minute someone says something like that everyone will assume it is because I am jumping on the bandwagon. NASCAR fans will assume I am starting to like Kyle because he wins races, wins them in bunches. The truth is I am starting to like Kyle for the way he responds when he doesn’t win.

That is a big change for me, since I have often dismissed both of the Busch brothers as arrogant punks. However in Kyle’s case I am starting to see shades of one of my old NASCAR heroes, one Dale Earnhardt Sr.

This was best personified last night after the checkered flag flew at Darlington. Kyle, who has the best car and was a handful of laps away from winning yet another Nationwide series race, got a flat tire late and to pit before the Green White Checkered finish and end up finishing 16th. After the cool down laps Kyle got out of his car, declined any interviews, and got back to his trailer as fast as he could.

To be honest, we have seen this from Kyle before. On those occasions many in the NACAR media, including myself, have labeled this behavior as that of a spoiled brat. I think we have judged Kyle too harshly in this instance.

I really believe that Kyle thinks he can go out and win every race. I truly believe that is his mindset, and for a NASCAR water downed by the likes of points racers, it really is a refreshing change. Kyle’s attitude is a refreshing change from the vanilla product NASCAR style racing has been over the last few years.

Kyle wants to win, the same way Dale Sr. wanted to win. Of course for a large part of his racing career Dale Sr. needed to win races to pay his bills. Kyle wants to win because he thinks he is the best NASCAR driver of this generation and he just may be. At the young age of 24 Kyle has amassed 50 wins across the three national NASCAR divisions. There is no telling how many he could eventually win.

While he would gain more respect for hardcore NASCAR fans by winning titles, a fact that may not be so true anymore, we must kind of respect Kyle’s first or last mentality.

This sport is changing Jimmie Johnson has won three titles in a row and one still wonders about the respect he gets from older, hard core NASCAR fans. The argument here becomes if Kyle wins 100 plus raced across the top three NASCAR divisions, but never claims a title would his racing resume be complete?

At 24 Kyle is a lock for the NASCAR hall of fame, of that there is no doubt, but what will is legacy be? Mark Martin's legacy, minus a cup title, is one of respect for years of being a quality competitor. Kyle likes to mix it up more than that and it may hurt him in the long run.

Beyond all that I am glad to see Kyle get upset when a race win slips from his grasp. I am glad not to hear him get out of the car and say well we didn’t win but it was a good point’s day, and I am glad that he has a mindset that he can win everything. This is an attitude that has virtually been deleted from NASCAR.

As a native Detroiter I would caution Kyle with the tale of one Jack Morris. While Jack’s career pitching stats are just short of Hall of Fame level (less than 300 career wins, and high ERA), he was the winningest pitcher of the 1980’s, and won a World Series title for every team he pitched for. However Jack remains unelected to the baseball Hall of Fame in large part for his adversarial relationship with the baseball press.

At some point Kyle will begin worrying about his NASCAR legacy and before he angers more the NASCAR press corps he should heed this warning.