Posted on Sat, May. 17, 2008

IN MY OPINION

Kyle Busch wins races, but not fans

TOM SORENSEN

Kyle Busch smiles, jokes and praises veteran drivers, dutifully invokes his sponsors and even talks about the sponsor of a competitor.

I almost forget he is evil. Where are Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans when you need them?

Busch, you'll recall, nudged Dale Jr. two weeks ago at Richmond International Raceway. The nudge led to a crash and the crash led to Earnhardt losing the lead and the race.

Fortunately, Earnhardt fans are forgiving. Estimated date on when they'll forgive Busch: May, 2018.

Busch is an unlikely bad guy. Bad guys are supposed to have presence. When Tony Stewart walks into a room, you know. There is a simmering, anything-can-happen quality about him, and I mean that as a compliment. He has things to say.

When Busch walks into the media center at Lowe's Motor Speedway Friday afternoon, a public relations official has to tell reporters in the buffet line that Busch is about to speak. Busch is only one room away, and that's where the rep goes. Almost nobody follows.

Let's go to the scoreboard: Flank steak, potatoes and cookies 1, Sprint Cup points leader 0.

And then Busch gets into a race car. And everybody watches.

Ask the folks who know the sport which driver has the most talent and for years you heard Jeff Gordon or Stewart. Now? You hear Busch.

He turned 23 only 15 days ago (which makes him four days older than New Orleans point guard Chris Paul. Who do you think is better at his job?).

Regardless of the series he runs or the vehicle in which he runs it, Busch makes the race his. Enjoy him, or don't, while you can. He says he plans to retire to at 30 and race Formula One.

"How's that?" Busch asks.

He is serious, at least, about getting into a Formula One car. He plans to test in November or December. If he's good at it, he says he'd some day like to try the Indianapolis 500.

"I think it would be something that would be pretty fun in the future," he says.

But how could he consider walking away from the fun he's having now?

"As long as I'm winning races, I'm having fun," Busch says.

He is a favorite to win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race tonight. But he won't be a favorite of fans.

Busch says the booing makes him laugh.

"Just because I'm not the most popular guy here, don't hate on my talent," he says. "I guess they do. I don't care."

He adds: "I've pretty much been doomed since I got here. I'm pretty much going to be doomed for the next 10 years. That's why I just try to go out there and send them home unhappy."

Busch says when he made his Cup debut, he was booed because he was Kurt's younger brother.

Now, he says, Kurt is booed "because he's Kyle's older brother."

He gets a laugh from the audience. He finally has an audience. The cookies are gone. IN MY OPINION Tom Sorensen