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A Clear Perspective on Kyle Busch:
NOT a “Phenom” August 27, 2008 Debbi Willis - SCR For the past two weeks, the world has
been watching the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing China. Thousands of athletes from hundreds of countries came together to
compete in one arena during a short period of time. The athletes exhibited years of physical training to hone their skills
in their particular sport to perform under incredible pressure and worldwide scrutiny for a few moments to gain or lose the
gold or any medal at all. The Olympics are in my personal opinion, without a doubt the single most competitive, intense athletic
competition in the world. So, you’re probably wondering now, what does this have to do with NASCAR auto racing? Absolutely
nothing. Still, the media and even
the announcers have likened Kyle Busch to “Olympic Phenom” Michael Phelps. Let me be the first to apologize to
Michael Phelps for the insensitive comparisons of Kyle Busch to his amazing accomplishments at the Olympics. As much as everyone
is just trying to tie the Olympics into our weekend sports events and though I understand the intent is not to diminish Phelps’
accomplishments, it IS an incredibly ludicrous analogy. Phelps’ amazing achievements are solely accomplished by his
own skills and his body alone in the water. Busch’s performances entail a team at the track, his car’s ability
to perform under his tutelage and an entire network of support behind the scenes in several areas. Granted, they both share
multiple victories but this is not new for a NASCAR driver (many others before Kyle Busch have had multiple victory seasons).
ESPN has some of the most intelligent
and experienced announcers in the sport in Brad Daugherty, Andy Petree, Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace. Several are Champions
in NASCAR as two are Champion drivers and one a Championship Crew Chief. Daugherty understands what it takes physically to
be a champion in a sport on a team. If prompted by ESPN to make this analogy, then, shame on ESPN for capitalizing on the
Olympics with the NASCAR broadcast! If this notion occurred to them and seemed like a bright idea to highlight, Kyle Busch,
perhaps they need to continue to let Kyle shine on his own, as he’s doing this quite well already. Whatever the case
may be, I certainly hope the phrase is dropped before Michael Phelps makes it back to the States and hears his mega-years
of training and 9 GOLD medal accomplishments compared to a NASCAR driver with an obnoxious attitude having a terrific season.
NASCAR’s big, but how pompous is that of the sport to usurp any attention Phelps totally deserves for all his incredible
hard work and achievement?! Last season I predicted that Kyle would do well this
season with Joe Gibbs Racing. This season, it’s pretty much an understatement as he dominates the point’s standings.
Motivation is so critical to a driver’s performance, but vengeance is a driving force few can reckon with. Playing upon
an old saying, I think it’s appropriate to say, “Hell hath no fury like Kyle Busch scorned” when Rick Hendrick
shocked him by letting him go for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kyle has done the best thing possible: make the one
who let you go, possibly sorry they did. All the parts fell into place for Kyle this year. He has a fire to prove to the world
that Rick Hendrick really made a big mistake letting him go in favor of the merchandise king. More solid motivation in his
favor is that Kyle Busch has a manufacturer in his corner with Toyota, who has the fire to prove they can build the best race
engines and cars to win championships as they had already done in the Truck division. These two major components together
with Tony Stewart jumping ship for his own team set the stage for this dominating year by a naturally talented young driver.
The only uncontrollable factor is the Chase. Leading the points is not guarantee of winning the Championship. Just ask Jeff
Gordon how that feels. Add the potential of one bad race in the Chase and a driver could spend the rest of the Chase scrambling
back to the top if ever. In
the meantime, perhaps more accurately Kyle Busch could be recognized for the “natural” talent he really is. In
every generation of racing, there are “naturals” who come along and tantalize the fans with their incredible ability
to drive anything (when given the chance) to a successful finish. Yet, all the natural talent in the world will not overcome
a lousy personality or an obnoxious “bad boy” attitude of entitlement. To this end, Joe Gibbs Racing has another
makeover on their hands much like they did with Tony Stewart. I suggest we remember to keep a clear perspective when comparing
athletes. Kyle Busch is a “natural” in our sport, but he’s not a phenomenon to be compared to an amazing,
incredible, truly phenomenal Olympic Champion like Michael Phelps. Furthermore, Kyle Busch should take lessons from Michael
Phelps on how to behave like a champion with grace and gratitude. Now, that would be a phenomenal change!
Questions, Comments: Email Debbi The views and opinions in this article are that of
the writer(s) and not necessarily that of SCR
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2006 StockCar Review.
