Kyle Busch is getting more personable

Let me start by saying at this time last year I thought of Kyle Busch the way many fans think of Kyle Busch. Damn he’s a great racecar driver, but he’s kind of unfriendly. Yet, that unfriendliness is what draws so many people to him, and I respect that.

 

This weekend at Kentucky Speedway, part of that opinion changed.

Kyle Busch is still one heckuva racecar driver; that obviously hasn’t changed. But the fact that he seemed more lighthearted and friendly with the media this past weekend really made me respect him even more.

For years fans have complained that Jimmie Johnson is too vanilla. Then he began to tweet, and it has changed many fans’ views (yours truly included) of the five-time defending Sprint Cup champion.

Kyle Busch had a moment like that on Friday around noon at Kentucky. While sitting in the media center’s “Bluegrass Hall,” where all the press conferences were being held, Busch cracked jokes with reporters about his bright green and yellow firesuit.

Jeff Gluck of SBNation.com mentioned that Busch’s NOS Energy Citrus flavor firesuit hurt his eyes. I’ll let you decide if the bright, almost neon green and yellow is too much of a clash of brightness for your pupils.

I'm not sure this picture does justice to the brightness

And after that question Busch answered one about if racing in all three series this past weekend was tiring.

“Yeah it’s certainly a longer weekend this year because of all the testing and everything that they’ve allowed us and the extra track time and that,” he said. “It’s certainly hot.”

‘This is a great answer,’ I thought. It was interesting to hear the only driver who was running in all three events give his take on how tiring the weekend actually was.

And then Busch dropped something that only Carl Edwards or Michael Waltrip have done in the past: an unbelievable sponsor reference.

“Plus, I’ve got the awesome NOS Energy Drink sponsor that keeps me going. Plenty of flavors to choose from,” he said. “Help yourselves. M&M’s hauler, Z-Line Designs, NOS Energy Drink hauler and pick yourself up one. New charge citrus flavor tastes just like Mello Yello. It’s a Southern thing, right?”

I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, and that was something I never expected from that short Kyle Busch meeting in the media center.

And I hope it has changed your view. Love him or hate him, I hope you’d enjoy the great comment he had. It wasn’t an awkward sponsor reference either, but it was genuine attempt at comedy. And it worked. I enjoyed it.

More on Kyle Busch’s hilarious comments about an event next season later on today.