Kyle Busch: Will he ever mature?

NOTE – This is the opinion of the author and does not reflect the opinion of Speedway Media or its staff.

We all thought Kyle Busch had changed for the better and that he was going to be a mature man following his 2011 accident with Ron Hornaday at the Texas Motor Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series that left everyone seething. This accident with Hornaday also proceeded his speeding citation when Busch was busted going 128 mph. in a 45 mph. zone earlier in the year when he was supposedly test-driving his new Lexus LFA sports car and got “carried away.” Samantha Busch was a passenger and she is just as responsible as he is. What did she do help the situation?

Busch had a really quiet 2012 and it all led us to believe as if he was actually maturing for once. We were fooled once again. Now, I’m not saying that everyone had the same exact belief as I did. However; there are many people who fell for it and I’m one of them. Kyle Busch showed that he is the exact same guy when he wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. on purpose. He has shown that everything about him maturing as a man out there on the race track is all fantasy. Kyle has much to learn and as much as I have been critical to Ryan Newman this year and I do sincerely apologize if I appeared too harsh on Ryan earlier in the year, I have to defend him in his matter.

Ryan Newman is absolutely correct. Kyle Busch is an incredible talent, but he himself is not that bright. Kyle is a one-way type of guy and maybe he always will be. This is why so many fans dislike Kyle Busch. I agree that many fans in our sport dislike or disliked certain drivers because of their successful past, but Kyle Busch is not in that same category. Kyle Busch can not be compared to the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or a Dale Earnhardt. If you compare Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, you can see that Gordon was disliked by many fans because he won so much, but Gordon is a very likable guy. Jimmie Johnson can come off as cocky, but he backs it up. Kyle Busch has not. If you based Kyle Busch’s numbers off his attitude, you probably would expect him to have astronomical numbers. He simply does not. He has the Nationwide statistics to back up his massive ego, but his Sprint Cup stats do not reflect that.

Perhaps Kyle unfortunately might have to go down a path similar to his older brother Kurt to realize how lucky he is to be in this sport. There are many guys that would put everything on the line to make it to the Sprint Cup Series. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are two drivers I tremendously respect because they raced their way in. Brad Keselowski refused to be intimidated and won the Sprint Cup Series Championship last season, and Carl Edwards is a two-time champion from my vantage point with respect to the old points system. Kyle Busch will never win a championship if he does not grow up.

I will admit that I used to be a Kyle Busch fan. I was not at all surprised when I heard what he had to say about Ryan Newman. After his immature tweets after Sonoma, I called Kyle Busch out on it, but I described myself as a Kyle Busch fan. Busch blocked me and numerous others who respectfully said that it was not the right move. It told me that Kyle Busch does not care about anyone other than himself and if he eventually loses his ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, I would not be surprised. Sponsors want someone that is not only going to go out and race competitively, but represent himself in a respectful manner that reflects back on the sponsors. Kyle Busch is not that driver.

While Kurt Busch has improved and continues to improve, Kyle simply has not. And perhaps like I said, Kyle may have to go through a similar path to his brother to see how precious life is and how lucky he is to be in this position. He is taking this for granted and fans should call him out for it. The ‘big stupid idiot’ in this scenario is Kyle Busch, not Ryan Newman. Kyle nearly lost his job at the end of 2011 and here he is kicking Newman while he’s down. I find his actions pathetic. I apologize for my earlier comments about Newman. Kyle needs to show some integrity and do the same.