It's Time Someone Sat Down With Kyle Busch

It is debatable if there has ever been as polarizing of an individual as Kyle Busch in NASCAR's upper echelons. For the past year and a half it seems as if there is at least one issue per week which divides fans so fiercely.

One could call it NASCAR's new Mason-Dixon Line.

Yet this past week has brought another new chapter to this ongoing saga, and it appears one side may be winning.

The fallout from Busch's comments regarding last weekend's Coke Zero 400 finish will not culminate until the green falls this Saturday night in Chicagoland. What can be seen, however, is that line has been moved substantially in the past week and there is little recourse Busch fans have at the moment.

Since the start of the 2008 season, the adage has been that Kyle Busch is good for the sport. He brings personality and relentless desire to win to what had become a monotone sport.

In many ways it was a rush of fresh air for fans as Busch was able to back up his off-track antics with on-track results.

NASCAR brass must have thoroughly enjoyed the attention it gave them. Finally they had the so-called drama that they had badly ached for the past several years. This new 'villain' of NASCAR was allowed to prosper and grow to almost legendary proportions in a relatively short amount of time.

Now, though, NASCAR must find itself at a crossroads. The same Busch who once enticed fans with his antics can now be seen pushing them away. After last weekend, a few are leaving a breakneck speed.

The accusations Busch made against two-time champ Tony Stewart were completely unfounded. It was reminiscent of a childhood fight in which the bully played innocent. Except the bully resorted to the classic 'Nuh-uh!' response.

And really, no one wins with this type of skirmish.

Those who argue that Busch's antics bring needed attention to the sport are correct... but only to a point. The actions of the last few days have shone a negative light not only on Busch but on NASCAR as a whole.

First year marketing courses cover this exact problem. It is definitely a good thing when your product becomes newsworthy even if it is in a somewhat negative light. When that negativity persists though, your product becomes associated with that negativity.

Clearly that is not what NASCAR wants.

Burgeoning fans and non-fans have to wonder how the sport can tolerate a driver's actions like this. If Shaq called out LeBron James for his missing the winning shot, when James was on the other side of the court, this action would surely draw the ire of both NBA fans and non-fans.

And this is precisely what has happened this past week week. The attention Kyle Busch has brought on the sport is of a negative, and outlandish, nature. It gives the impression that NASCAR drivers are just a spoiled and selfish as athletes in other sports.

The irony is that NASCAR has fought to relay the every-man aspect of its drivers throughout the years. If this were a short track incident in Anywhere, U.S.A., Kyle Busch would have most likely been taken out back behind the track and taught a thing or two about respect.

Yet his supporters always crawl out of the corners with the mantra that Busch is good for the sport and good for racing in general. They point to his no-holds-barred attempts to win every race he enters as a solution to the Kyle Busch conundrum.

Do not justify these actions with Busch's strong desire to win. This is NASCAR's creation, an egotistical villain who can do no wrong. And it is time someone stepped in and stopped it.

No one can deny Busch's talent. When he slides into a race car, he becomes one with the car in a way few others have accomplished. It is sad to see such talent being wasted away in such a frivolous manner.

Drama and personality are good for the sport, but schoolyard antics are not. And it's about time someone, NASCAR or otherwise, taught this lesson to Busch. Before it's too late.