NASCAR’s Kyle Busch Attracts Boo-Birds: How Would You Help ‘Rowdy’?
by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

Winning doesn’t seem to cure NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch’s propensity to be booed. It’s said that winning cures all, but does it?

A few elements in sports will never change: Winning gets attention and more often than not—winning creates fans. If your NFL favorite makes the playoffs then advances, notice that local residents who never supported the team will all of sudden start jumping up and down when the team plays. It’s human to love a winner, human too, to ignore a loser.

So when a talented guy like Busch accumulates wins in NASCAR races, it would seem likely that his fans base should explode or at least expand. It’s hard to put numbers on that, but why is Busch never voted into the top 10 of most popular drivers? He is certainly among the best top 10 drivers in NASCAR.

Busch understands his role.

“I feel like I just come out here to do my job. I do what I’m supposed to do, and to win races is my job and what that entails,” Busch said. “The fans are what drives this sport and what makes us go round and get us here every week. So it’s cool to have them here, and they’re passionate about who they like and who they don’t like.”

Do traditional winning effects seem to blow over Busch’s many No. 1 checkered flags?

Keep in mind Busch had to grow up in public. He had to wait to get to the top level of racing only because he hadn’t turned 18 yet. Almost no one reading these words has had that kind of experience.

Busch has answers for booing.

“I feel like to me I’ve been in this position since the upstart of my career, since I was 16, and it hasn’t changed, and I don’t foresee it changing any time soon,” Busch said. “We’ve asked this question about 50 million times and I’ll probably get it 25 million more times. You know, you just deal with it, man. You just go out there and do what you can.”

Recently Busch was the subject on ESPN with a reality show called ‘Riding Shotgun,’ which featured ‘Rowdy’ and his soon to be wife Samantha Sarcinella. Fans and boo-birds alike got a view of the hectic and challenging life a young NASCAR star must endure. It surely helped his image, but he continues to get booed at introductions even as he continues to win.

Also recently, Busch was a part of a “meet and greet” promotion for JEGS high performance parts arranged by NASCAR’s marketing department for JEGS’ sponsorship on Kevin Harvick’s No. 2 Camping World Truck in Loudon, N.H. JEGS co-owner John Coughlin and 14-year-old son Cody met with Busch in his hauler for casual conversation about racing and sponsorship. Young Cody aspires to be a NASCAR driver so the meeting was momentous for him. Yet the off-track amicable Busch was courteous and entertaining, certainly not a guy worthy of any boos at that meeting.

So is Busch misunderstood?

People really don’t change much, but developing a more attractive public persona is possible sometimes by omitting select behavior. Maybe Busch misses that concept.

If one is often called a three-letter word—the proper name for donkey—it just might be there are behavioral reasons.

Are Busch’s boo-birds a result of his attitude, facial features or both?

It’s no secret that some of us are more physically attractive than others. Genetics impacts our body and facial makeup. The more balance in forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks and lips, the more appealing the face.

Even if you don’t have a tendency to boo Busch, what would you do to improve his image?

1. Leave him alone. Let him be. He’s young yet. He’ll mature.
2. Change his personality. He’s abrasive.
3. Change his appearance. Brother Kurt seems to have gotten more than his share of the handsome genes in the Busch family.

It’s your take—Mr. or Ms. Fan—if you feel Kyle ‘Rowdy’ Busch needs to change his attitude and appearance, how would you change him? How would you improve Busch’s public image?

Potential alteration methods follow. Please be understanding, if you can’t be kind. Would you recommend any of the following?

Personality changes:

Personality enhancement routines sometimes called charm schools like a Dale Carnegie course or similar might be beneficial.

Would you suggest occasional or routine personality work for Busch?

Physical changes:

Medical procedures can alter deficiencies by shifting balance with surgical remedies.
Plastic surgery, cosmetic alterations to improve appearance, is a common remedy for celebrities. Would you recommend any of the following skin manipulations?

(Definitions by Wikipedia).

Blepharoplasty: (“eyelid surgery”): reshaping of the eyelids or the application of permanent eyeliner.

Lip enhancement: surgical improvement of lips’ fullness through enlargement.

Otoplasty: (“ear surgery”/”ear pinning”): reshaping of the ear, most often done by pinning the protruding ear closer to the head.

Browplasty: (“brow lift” or “forehead lift”): elevates eyebrows, smooths forehead skin.

Is a better public Busch possible through mental and medical changes? Possibly, but always present within Busch’s exterior presence is his talent and relentless drive, the core ingredients of champions. Changing any of that would be detrimental.

One reality that is not likely to change any time soon is Busch’s propensity to visit victory lane. No competitor would seek a cure for that.

It’s your take—change or no change. It’s your choice—cheer, boo or be silent.

The opinions expressed in this articles are solely those of the author and not this website.
Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com