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Busch slowly winning fans as he wins races

May 4, 2009 12:36 am

BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH

RICHMOND--

Gibbs, as he was known to do after Redskins games, opened by thanking the fans. He mentioned a special attachment to Richmond because of its thick burgundy-and-gold base.

Busch then offered a hopeful sigh that was followed by a mild plea.

"I wish there were as many Busch fans as there are Redskins fans around here," he said.

Gibbs smiled.

"I'm sure they were all here to see me," the former coach said with a laugh. "In any case, it was a great weekend for us."

Busch is a driver fans love to hate. It is partly due to his cocksure attitude and his sometimes overaggressive driving style. It is partly because he is the younger brother of Kurt Busch, who won't be a candidate for the most-popular-driver award any time soon.

And it doesn't help that Kyle has wrecked Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is as important to NASCAR fans as Facebook is to college students.

Someone even took the time to create a Web site called kylebuschsucks.net.

After Busch won Saturday's race, he crawled through his window and pumped his fists as he jogged to get the checkered flag. Though there were some cheers, there were also plenty of fans who booed and turned their thumbs to the ground.

"Whether it's one-finger salutes or thumbs-up or whatever," Busch said, "it's all good."

Or is it?

When Busch was younger he seemed genuinely unaffected by the catcalls. But on Saturday, each statement like the one above was followed by one that made it sound like Busch just wanted to be loved.

"For me, it's fun to go out there and play the villain role sometimes," Busch said, "and be liked other times."

It is an intriguing dynamic that this widely disliked driver works for a team owned by Gibbs, the extremely polite and well-liked former football coach whose public temper is milder than a Miami winter.

Gibbs admits that Busch was not NASCAR's most endearing personality as he became one of the Sprint Cup's most dominant drivers. But this season he has noticed a shift in the perception of Busch.

As Gibbs makes his endless rounds of pre-race meet-and-greets with fans and sponsors, he sees more and more No. 18 shirts and baseball caps. And when Busch takes a checkered flag, as he did Saturday night for the third time this season, Gibbs said the resulting cacophony is slowly taking on a different tenor.

"What I hear is more and more cheers," Gibbs said. "Generally, I think fans appreciate great effort. They appreciate someone that's really good at something, and I think that's what's happening to Kyle."

When Busch made a move and took the lead on Lap 352 on Saturday, there was a noticeable roar. Of course, it was probably more because he had passed the even-more-disliked Jeff Gordon than because of some sudden Kyle Busch love-fest.

Still, the young driver will take what he can get.

There is a chance Busch could still give two lugnuts whether fans rooted for him. There is a chance his sponsors simply want him to increase his fan base. (Who wants to scoop handfuls of Combos and M&M's when their pitchman is a sourpuss?)

But it would seem that most of all, sponsors would want a winner. And it is clear that Busch is likely to fill that role for years to come.

He won a series-high eight Sprint Cup races last season, and currently leads the series with three wins this year.

And that is why Gibbs thinks fans will eventually change their attitude toward Busch. And that is why the wins and the trophies and the prize money will continue to pile up.

"When you get in a string like he's on, he's got so much confidence and momentum on his side and that means so much in this series," said Tony Stewart, a former Gibbs Racing driver who's had a few image issues himself. "It doesn't matter what you're driving when you've got that confidence in it."

Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com