It wasn’t very long ago when Kyle Busch was deemed by many as the No. 1 villain of NASCAR. Busch, a two-time Cup champion, would receive loud boos at several racetracks on the calendar regardless of his actions on the track or his words off the track. However, things have changed as of late. Busch, once hated by the NASCAR faithful, is now turning into a fan favorite.
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The tide turned at the start of the recently concluded season when Busch joined Richard Childress Racing. Since then, the boos have turned into cheers and the air of hostility fans had for Rowdy has turned into an air of admiration.
This shift in his perception amid the fans has left Kyle Busch wondering about his former self, “Wait, who was that?” The #8 driver recently shared his thoughts as he tried to make sense of his previous reputation and his changing image.
“When you’re young, you come in and you start beating up on the guys that have been here for a while, people don’t really take well to that,” Busch said as per NASCAR. “So you’re not very well-liked, especially doing it the brash way that I did early on, it certainly got some more eyeballs on my name.”
“But you know, as I’ve gotten a little bit older, as I’ve matured a little bit, as I’ve not won as often, people are starting to be like, ‘Hey, man, that guy used to win all the time, but I want him, like I’m gonna pull for him, I want him to win. Let’s see him win some more,’ so it turns the table, for sure.”
Kyle Busch contrasts Jeff Gordon’s image from 90s to his retirement
The fact that the majority of fans are warming up to him now at this stage of his career is “pretty awesome”, Kyle Busch said.
The former Hendrick and JGR driver referred to the reception Jeff Gordon received at the start of his career, contrasting it to the reception Gordon’s final win got as he said, “I remember, how many times did Jeff Gordon get booed after a win, right, like in the late ’90s especially?”
“And then his last win that he had at Martinsville, I mean, the crowd went nuts,” Busch added as he pointed to the reality of life that says times change and tables turn.
