Kyle Busch was famously given the nickname Rowdy thanks to his hot-headed personality. There have been countless instances where the RCR driver has lost his cool and gotten in trouble. Over time, Busch has mellowed down significantly. But how did this happen? Speaking with Kenny Wallace, the two-time Cup Series Champion explained how his wife and kids had a major role in changing his life’s trajectory.
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During the conversation, Wallace asked if Samantha helped the younger Busch become a better person. Kyle responded, “Oh yeah. 1,000%. Definitely… The Rowdy nickname didn’t come along because I wasn’t.”
“I did have a little bit of that before her and then obviously we dated for a little bit and we’ve been married for 13 years now… But I would say the kid’s thing kind of changes you a little bit as well too more so…” Busch went on to say that he remained a hothead, getting himself into “doing crazy stupid things” while Samantha was around. But it was only when his kids came into the picture, that his mentality changed.
Kyle Busch elaborates on Samantha and his kids’ emotional role during the race weekends.
Wallace asked Busch if his wife and children helped him emotionally whenever he had a bad day at the racetrack. The RCR driver replied, “I walk in the bus and Brexton’s there and he’s like, he gives me a hug. And he’s like, ‘Sorry, dad. You just didn’t have the car today. Something like that.”
“So that’s, uh, that’s always super sweet, super nice if you’ve got a shoulder to lean on. At times there’s been you know a shoulder needed to cry on. Whether it’s been her or whether it’s been me and so yeah, it’s definitely been great having them come around as much as they do.”
He then said that Samantha used to spend every weekend at the racetrack with Busch. In his words, Samantha “put her life away” and followed along for the races. However, since Brexton has been getting older and has started a racing career of his own, Samantha now spends quite a few races away from her husband.
