July 30, 2009
By Doug Demmons
I miss Kyle Busch already.
I miss the foot-stomping, tantrum-throwing, guitar-smashing, loose-lipped anti-hero -- the one who suddenly morphed into the polite, contrite, thoughtful young man at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend.
It’s not that Busch has turned into a corporate robot. He has a long way to go before that happens. But he took the first steps on Friday at the Brickyard.
Practically the first words out of his mouth during his “media availability” were about how he needs to be better and do better and become a better leader for his team.
Maybe it was the fact that he had a week off to think about it. Maybe it was the fact that tantrum-throwing Kyle was sliding down the Sprint Cup standings.
Maybe it was the chat he had with his spotter/agent or the chat he had with his PR guy from M&Ms. Or maybe he decided that throwing your own crew under the bus is not a good way to get them to help you win a championship.
Whatever it was, Busch became -- at least for one weekend -- the driver everybody has been demanding that he become. When he tagged the wall at Indy and took his car to the garage he didn’t stomp off in a huff to his hauler and slam the door behind him. He answered questions and did so without snarling at anyone except himself.
It was probably an inevitability. Lots of drivers come into the sport full of sound and fury and end up, as Danica Patrick put it, full of “bunnies and rainbows.”
Before he was the beloved driver/owner he is today, Tony Stewart was Tony the Terrible, feuding with the media, ripping NASCAR and generally being hard to deal with. He was even fined and put on probation by his sponsor, Home Depot, for one notable incident at the Brickyard.
But people change. They grow up. They mellow out. They learn better ways to channel their aggressive instincts. They learn when to keep their mouths shut.
Maybe Kyle Busch is growing up and learning that it takes more than raw talent to win a championship. If so, he might actually win one.
But it’ll be sad to see Old Kyle disappear. NASCAR already has enough polished drivers who say and do all the right things. What it needs are a few more drivers willing to shake things up and make people uncomfortable.
Maybe some other driver will step forward and pick up the black hat. But it wouldn’t be the same. Busch was such a great bad guy because he combines great talent with great arrogance. Every time he won it was like twisting the knife.
Of course, New Kyle might not last any longer than a summer thunderstorm. He could backslide and Dr. Jekyll will once again become Mr. Hyde.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at Blog of Tommorow
Follow Doug on Twitter: @dougdemmons
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Doug Demmons at ....
