Demonizing Kyle Busch: NASCAR Nation's New Favorite Pastime

(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)

Sometimes he disappears quietly into the infield. Other times, he speaks and who knows what may come out of his mouth. It may be something complimentary to those who beat him, or it may be something bad-mouthing other drivers on the track or reporters for asking dumb questions. 

So again, maybe the problem isn't that his behavior is "getting old" but that some simply don't like his behavior.

To me, Clint Bowyer is a very consistent race car driver who seems to almost always manage a pretty good finish.

I know that when he is interviewed after a race where he has usually finished in the top-10 or top-15, he's going to say the same things he said the week before.

But I don't gripe about it. I expect it, he says it, and I pay little attention and wait for the fireworks if someone who feels they were wronged gets interviewed.

Again, to go back to what I said before, nearly every driver acts the same way each week depending upon whether they've won or lost.

How many times have we heard certain drivers who consistently finish between fifth and 15th talk about how impossible it was to pass out there, but every week Busch, Edwards, and Johnson manage to do it at least once—more if they end up penalized for something and have to restart from the back.

How many times have we heard a driver say it was a good points day and they're happy with their finish? As has been said by numerous commentators, had Smokey Yunick heard talk like that, he would have been the first one to fire the driver and get someone who wants to win. 

As for passion, Kyle's got more passion for the sport and for winning than any other driver out there. What you may hear as "whining," I hear as the frustration of a driver with more "fire-in-his-belly" than anyone else who just wants to race, and whose only goal is to win.

Believe it or not, the sport is about WINNING, not about looking good after you lose.

Sure, some may win popularity contests or win over the hearts of those "pulling for an underdog," but bottom line, all of these guys are the best of the best because they WON a lot in order to get where they are. They didn't settle for being second (or third, or fifth) best.

So to impugn someone's character and say he "likes to whine" and "doesn't have passion" is missing the point altogether. He's one of the few who says and shows EXACTLY how he feels and when he loses, he's very passionate about how much he doesn't like to lose and how much he doesn't care what you or I think about it.

That makes him my driver of choice every time he straps in and every time he climbs out of the car, win or lose.

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