Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s MVP

This is going to be an unpopular column when it comes to NASCAR fans.

Let’s be clear I am a NASCAR fan first before I even write this blog, and it’s the main reason I even take the time to write in this space.

I’ve never been a real fan of Kyle Busch, although I do know some people who are. But it is hard to deny his racing talent. He won a championship two years ago, which was way before I thought he would have the composure, maturity, and focus to do so in the Cup Series. He proved me, and a lot of other people who follow racing closely, wrong. I have no shame in admitting that. Kyle Busch is a great race car driver and has the potential to win many more titles. Let’s not forget his championship came just eight months after breaking his leg in a huge crash at Daytona in 2015.

Busch may have been a little out of line to storm after Joey Logano and punch him in the face after the Kobalt 400 in Las Vegas. I’m not going to write about who was right and who was wrong in the incident. Busch walked right into a hornets nest and he clearly got the worst of the confrontation after being punched by Logano’s crew members.

I am here to say that I think Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s MVP. Or maybe it’s MVD, most valuable driver. And before you freak out, let me explain.

First, Busch going after Logano and then getting beat up by the Penske Racing crew members was to be expected from The Kyle Busch. At 31 years of age he may have a wife and a son and a championship now, but it is hard to leave that passion and fire for winning at home. Busch wants to win in everything he does, every single day. But it’s how we all accept losing that defines us. Busch does not handle it well, but that is NASCAR’s problem and also its benefit. He’s like a spoiled child, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Busch-Logano rumble in Vegas is the talk of NASCAR, and that is actually refreshing to me after two weeks of talk about rules, stages, and pit road speeding penalties. The fight even took the focus away from a dominant win by Martin Truex Jr., who was able to pass Brad Keselowski with two laps to go. Keselowski was close to winning his second straight Monster Energy Cup Series race after taking the checkered flag in Atlanta. It was all everyone could talk about leading up to Ryan Newman’s surprise win in Phoenix this past weekend.

NASCAR should not be this complicated. It should be about who wins, who wrecks, and what drivers you like and don’t like. The last few weeks I’ve heard way too much about downforce, how fast the drivers can go on different segments of the pit road, what the digital dashboards look like, and on and on. I really like Larry McReynolds on the Fox broadcast, but usually when he comes in to explain how things work I head to the refrigerator or the bathroom. Love you Larry, but no one sitting at home on their couch is ever going to be a NASCAR crew chief.

Now back to the fight.

Hearing someone say, “Did you see Kyle Busch get his ass kicked?” gets your attention way more than, “Can you believe there were 13 speeding penalties on pit road?”

I got several texts on Sunday from people I never would have thought to be watching the NASCAR race in Vegas, especially with a plethora of college basketball going on.

Every story needs a villain, and Busch is the NASCAR villain. Dale Jr. is the sport’s most popular driver, but Busch is its most important driver. Brad Keselowski could be the hated one, but he does not truly embrace the role. Keselowski also is more of an ambassador who speaks out on the issues.

Who would the fans boo if not for Kyle Busch? Who would get a better cheer when he crashes or blows an engine than Kyle Busch?

Sometimes people take NASCAR so seriously that they can’t realize that 40 drivers are actually putting on a show for your entertainment. Sure they get paid pretty well to do so, but they wouldn’t if no one was there to see it. Busch is part of the reason you pay for tickets, and it’s hard to say where NASCAR would be without him.

When I was growing up I watched a lot of IndyCar racing with my father. Back then it was CART or the PPG Indy Car Series. In the midwest we loved open-wheel racing. My favorite drivers were Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal. I met both of them at the Cleveland Grand Prix growing up. But man did I dislike Emerson Fittipaldi. I couldn’t stand him. Every week I hoped Rahal or Sullivan would come home with the win, but at the same time I always paid attention to where Fittipalid was. And most of the time my boos for him were stronger than my cheers for my favorite drivers.

That’s the Kyle Busch affect in NASCAR. You may hate him, but you’re always paying attention to where he’s running in the race.

I’m not telling anyone who has a disdain for Busch to change at all. I’m just simply pointing out how good he is at playing the ultimate NASCAR heel, to coin a term from professional wrestling.

The two drivers met face-to-face this week with NASCAR. Logano brought his laptop to show Busch data that made his points and he accepted responsibility for the accident. Both these drivers are very smart, and are a major part of the future of the sport. They know what they’re talking about, and they also know how to win. Busch will win another championship or two, Logano will win his first and then a lot more after that. We surely have not seen the last of these two and their intense desire to win. Let’s not forget Matt Kenseth intentionally wrecked Logano in the Chase of 2015. No one likes the guy who wins a lot and who is up front every week.

I agree with NASCAR’s decision not to suspend Busch this week. What would that accomplish? Do you think that would change Busch and the way he approaches each and every race? Absolutely not. What you see is what you get from Kyle Busch, and that is why he is NASCAR’s MVP.

(Above Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

 

Busch Claims Always Dramatic Daytona 500

It was a monster debut for Monster Energy in NASCAR.

Kurt Busch, who carries the Monster Energy livery on his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, won the 59th running of the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion passing Kyle Larson on the last lap when Larson ran out of fuel. The Great American Race was the first points-paying race with Monster Energy as the new entitlement sponsor for the stock car series. There are just the third company to be the title sponsor of the series following Winston and Sprint.

The story about Busch is one of redemption and probably one you have read over and over at this point.

The more fascinating part of this Daytona 500 that got me thinking on Monday morning was the incredible amount of drama that the race induces each and every year. How many times does the race actually not live up to the hype and buildup? Remember one time a car even hit a jet dryer!

This year it was about new stage racing and the countless accidents that took out major contenders and the leaders running out of gas when it was all on the line.

“I’m still blown away by the amount of effort that it takes to win one of these races, let alone the Daytona 500,” said Busch. “This is very special.”

Special indeed. Even more special because rarely do you see a driver dominate the 500. It is nearly impossible. Chase Elliott looked like the winner. The 2nd-year Cup Series son of a legend was the leader in the final 100 miles and had the lead with three laps to go, only to run out of gas. Almost as if the racing gods are putting him through so many near-wins so that he can cherish the first one that much more.

That’s what happened to Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500. It took Earnhardt 19 tries before he finally won the biggest stock car race in the world. That was after winning just about every other race that was held at “The World Center of Speed.”

But back to Busch. He’s been through a lot these past few years. That includes being suspended for the 2015 Daytona 500 for an alleged domestic violence issue with his former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. This claim turned out to be false and the latest of the saga had Driscoll being charged with stealing from a military charity she led in September of last year. Busch was reinstated after missing the first three races of the 2015 season.

Think of everything Busch went through and then what he went through in the crazy 500 on Sunday. He was involved in one of the big wrecks, but Tony Gibson and his crew were able to repair it before the new five minute clock ran out. He lost his rearview mirror with 30 laps to go. He benefited from nearly everyone in front of him running out of Sunoco fuel. Then he partied with Gronk in victory lane. Once again, it’s never easy or
drama-free in Daytona.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 26: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane with New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski after winning the 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 26, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

“Daytona’s always about survival.  As I gave Tony Gibson a high five before we started the race, I said, It’s 90% protect the car, 10% go for aggression, race hard, and execute at the end. I’m thankful enough we didn’t have too much damage.  The nose was clean and the tail was clean.  Yeah, the sides were a bit wrinkled up.  You just kind of let the rough edges drag and you go for it.  There’s things that everybody has to go through to win this race.  Usually there’s not a perfect car anymore.”

No driver could have said it better, especially those watching the end because their cars were too beat up to continue. (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth just to name a few)

Just incredible stories all around with the Busch victory. There was his crew chief Tony Gibson who grew up in Daytona. What a fairy tale win for him.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Gibson.  “

“In today’s times to win, it’s so competitive, so hard to win.  Each time you win, it means more because it’s harder and harder to win each time. You’re only as good as your last win.  So this means more to me than anything I’ve done.  I won the championship in 1992 with Alan Kulwicki, but this here is huge.”

Did I mention that Busch races for Tony Stewart, who in his first year strictly as a car owner won the 500 with his new manufacturer Ford.

“If I knew all I had to do was retire to get it done, I would have retired a long time ago (smiling).”

Despite winning the Cup championship three times and the Brickyard 400 twice in his home state of Indiana, Smoke never won the Daytona 500 as a driver.

“I mean, when you’ve grown up all your life as a racecar driver you want to win it as a driver.  For every driver, there’s a point where you step out of the car and you do something different.  To have an opportunity to come back this year as an owner and still have the opportunity to be where we’re at right now, I mean, that’s a pretty exciting feeling.”

And let’s not forget Monster. The brand that stirred up controversy by putting scantily clad women in Victory Lane which was the talk of Daytona all week leading up to the race.

“It’s incredible to have such a powerful brand share the car with Gene Haas.  When you share a car like we do and when you’re in wrecks and they’re doing a super slow-mo of your car going through the grass, that’s what my bride, Ashley, has turned me into such a positive thinker.  She’s like, That’s such great exposure for Monster.”

But nothing tops the exposure they will get for being on the winning Daytona 500 car.

Welcome to NASCAR Monster Energy and welcome to the Daytona 500 champions club Kurt Busch.