Who’s the best NASCAR driver of the past 40 years?
Ask any group of race fans, and half will name Dale Earnhardt Sr.
That answer is debatable, but Earnhardt’s value to NASCAR is not. There wasn’t a fan in the country who did not tune in each Sunday to watch The Intimidator harass other drivers up and down the track on his way to the front.
Some watched because they loved the iconic driver, while others watched because they couldn’t stand the guy.
With all the attention he garnered, Earnhardt’s shocking death at Daytona in 2001 could have destroyed the sport. He was NASCAR. Who could possibly bring in the kind of television ratings he generated? Who could pack the stands like he did? Who could sell all that merch?
There were several candidates at the time. There was a past-his-prime Bill Elliott, there was Jeff Gordon, and there was Mark Martin. But they were all nice guys.
NASCAR needed another bad boy. NASCAR needed Kyle Busch.
Busch was not quite 16 at the time and was yet to enter the radar of fans across the county, but he was about to. There were numerous obstacles to his eventual Cup debut — all having to do with his age — but the kid from Las Vegas was about to do the impossible. He was about to replace a legend.
Despite their similarities — both had aggressive driving styles, both wound up in the record books before dying in their 40s, and neither was afraid to offend a few people with post-race comments — there is no record of the two ever meeting.
Kyle’s brother, Kurt Busch, was already a rising star at the time, and he managed to draw a middle finger from Earnhardt in that fateful Daytona race. But the elder Busch already knew he would not be the driver to replace the seven-time champion.
“If you think I’m a pretty good race car driver, wait until you see my brother,” he said in a press conference.
And he was right.
After Kyle Busch’s 2005 Rookie of the Year season, he began building a fan base. At the same time, he was also alienating most of the other drivers with his physical, fearless style of racing.
By 2007, he had even tangled with his brother at Charlotte to the point where the two did not speak for a year. Next, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. And then in 2010, it was his own teammate, Denny Hamlin. And that was just the beginning.
NASCAR had to act concerned, but officials knew they had just what they needed. There were other antagonists in the series, but none with the talent or charisma Kyle Busch had. Just like Dale Earnhardt Sr.
He would go on to have ugly incidents with Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., creating thrilling YouTube videos to give NASCAR free publicity along the way.
Though Busch remained a maverick throughout his career, he did gain wisdom and respect among his peers in his later years.
Earnhardt Jr. was among those to offer condolences after Busch’s death on May 21.
“My heart is broken for the Busch family,” he told NASCAR.com. “I will never be able to make sense of this loss, but I am thankful that we had found a way to become friends. It was he who made the effort.”
Hot-tempered Harvick had also changed his perspective.
“I’ve hated Kyle Busch with a passion at moments,” he told Fox Sports last year. “That’s all come full circle, and we’re very much able to communicate and have a good relationship. Over time, that fierce competition turned into a mutual respect.”
Earnhardt Sr. finished with seven titles and 76 career Cup wins, while Busch had two championships and 63 wins. But counting the Xfinity and truck series, Busch won 234 races, more than anyone in NASCAR history. And after many of them, he sarcastically bowed to the haters booing him from the stands.
Busch was the new Earnhardt, and he wanted to be just like the legend. Or maybe even better.
“Seventy-six is the number,” he said in 2019. “Earnhardt is the number. I want to get to 77. If I can get to 77 wins, I’ll feel like I’ve done something in this sport.”
So the next time someone asks about the greatest NASCAR driver ever, it’s fair to mention Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty, Gordon or Jimmie Johnson.
But Kyle Busch has to be in that conversation.
And if he wasn’t the all-time best driver, he certainly will forever share a spot with Earnhardt as one of the most exciting showmen ever to drive a stock car.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
