Kyle Busch: Hate or Wait? Or Is It Toyota's Fault?

The black hat. Many fans are giving it to Kyle Busch.

The bad guy, villain, rival, nemesis, arch enemy, the wearer of the black hat. One could consider this a very bad thing for a race champion, but who else wore the black hat?

Darrell Waltrip? Dale Earnhardt, Sr.? Maybe even "the King" Richard Petty? Is it Toyota?

I keep hearing about the horsepower, and the advantage Toyota has over the competition. Is that why he's winning so many races? Is it talent? From the boos of the crowd, you might think he's got tricks up his sleeve that give him the edge. That he's cheating or driving unfairly.

I don't have a great love for him, but now he reminds me of others. Like Howard Stern. People who hated Howard Stern would listen to his show, and complain the whole time. Talk about how much of a jerk he was, and that he didn't deserve to be on the radio.

But week after week they would listen.  That's about how it is now.

I watched the Craftsman truck race this past week, and at the end of the race I found myself wondering...is he gonna win again? From the back of the pack and gaining on the leader, Benson, I couldn't stop thinking about where he was in the race.

Howard Stern, Kyle Busch, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, you hate them then.

But wait. Champions of their time. You sort of stop hating, start respecting, start appreciating, anticipating, and then...cheering?

Kyle Busch may not be getting the cheers now, but wait. Wait until he wins a series championship. Wait until he has a bad season. Wait until a new black hat emerges, maybe the newest black hat since..."sliced bread," and that "sliced bread" is driving a Toyota.

Can you wait til then?, or do you hate anyway?