Going to miss you Kyle

​      It’s been a few weeks now and a few years later and reality has set in that my hero has taken the checkered flag for the final time. Yet another reminder that we never know when we will see someone for the last time. A hall of famer, a champion, a family man. These are just a few things to describe Kyle. He was also my introduction into the sport that I love today. Kyle we will miss you.

       My journey into becoming a hardcore fan began one Sunday afternoon in 2005. My mother had some friends babysitting me while she went to work and I sat in front of the tv flipping channels until something caught my eye. It was cars going around New Hampshire and the speed and look of those cars (gen4) caught my eye. I liked what I saw so I stayed on that channel to watch trying to understand what I was seeing. I think saw a blue and yellow 5 car that looked like the best car on track, and on top of him running my favorite number I immediately called him my favorite. I found out his name during the broadcast and also learned that he was a rising star so I felt it would be a good idea to go with Kyle as my favorite driver. Turns out it was the right choice as I watched him dominate more than half the race before an incident took him out. That day I became hooked on nascar and hooked on a favorite driver. 

      At the time I didn’t have cable and with my household only having one tv it was hard to watch every weekend until the 2006 Chase to which I made sure I was in front of that tv from green flag to checkered rooting for Kyle. NASCAR wasn’t really popular amongst any of my peers or family and I even got made fun of for “watching cars go in circles” and was told “drivers aren’t athletes, they’re just driving a car” to which I ignored and kept watching and rooting. Life was hard growing up but NASCAR was my escape from it all for a few hours, and Kyle Busch with the talent he showcased and his shear will to win made me lock into the sport more and more. When the checkered flag fell at homestead to end the 2006 season and the Daytona500 promo commercials were already airing I just could not wait until 2007.

       When 2007 came along I was able to watch my first Daytona 500 and Kyle Busch was in it to win it up until turn 4 on the last lap which resulted in a spin. Throughout the race I was realizing how big the Daytona 500 truly was at the time and was rooting for him until the very end. It was bitter sweet because while he did spin, the finish of that race was absolute cinema.

         I wasn’t the most informed fan at the time so throughout the year I learned that Kyle Busch was going to JGR for 2008 and that JGR was switching to Toyota. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my favorite driver with a new team and a new generation of car (Car of tomorrow), but he started his JGR tender off red hot with 8 wins in the 2008 season. This year was the year that I started watching most of the season including the Busch and trucks series. The season had highs and lows but every race, every lap, I was locked on Kyle to see how he would do. He was most of the time the most exciting driver on track especially on restarts and the way he would save that car or the way he would drive on edge. I would spend the whole week at school thinking about how 18 would do the next race, and it went this way for years and years. 

      Every year something would go wrong or the speed wasn’t there when it mattered when it was time to fight for a championship but I always had confidence that he would win at least one championship. He had a few wild moments with his temper but he also had a lot of moments that showed his will to win and that stuck with me. 

         In 2015 I was watching the xfinity Daytona race when I saw a crash coming out of the trioval. At first I didn’t realize who it was that slid into the inside wall or realize how hard the impact was and then I saw it was Kyle. I don’t even remember much from the rest of that race outside of hoping Kyle is okay. When the news came out with the injury I couldn’t believe it and was hoping he would have a speedy recovery. When he returned I was a little skeptical on if he would be the same again with his injury but also the task he faced to make the playoffs that year after missing so much time. He had to make it to the top 30 in points and get a win and he was able to pull off that feat, but he was also able to win a championship…..his 1st one. To be able to mentally come back after a broken leg and win a championship takes a lot. What happened for years to come was total domination across all 3 series.

     He was able to rack up a lot more wins and even another championship and as a fan I felt on top of the world. The same guy I picked to be my favorite driver just because of his car number was having a generational career. Every weekend no matter if i was at work, at a friends house, there was even a time I was at a shelter, I always made sure to watch in some way to see my driver. Everything seemed to be going well until coronavirus hit in 2020. Everything shut down, no nascar, not much to take my mind off of things and at the time nobody knew when it was going to end. NASCAR eventually restarted months later but with limited track time which was understandable because of covid but we still have limited track time today. 

      2021 I learned that Kyle would be going to a new team, this time RCR racing and also a new car (the next gen). Things started off strong when Kyle won at Auto club and won again at talladega. This set the stage for my very first in person NASCAR race, Gateway.

      This weekend was the best weekend of my life as a fan as Kyle sat on the pole and dominated a lightening delayed race to win under the lights. This was a surreal feeling and a full circle moment from the first race I ever watched.

       This was the last cup race that he would win but despite that I was always happy to see him in the field. When he won the Daytona 500 pole earlier this year I thought that this could be the year. As it looked like his career was winding down on top of terrible luck that was a win to me.

     Kyle wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and didn’t care if you agreed with him or not or if you liked it or not and that was another reason I liked him as a fan. Him also going all in on his son Brenton’s racing career and seeing them dirt race together was also what I loved to see. Kyle would have a bad day and be right back ready to go the next day. He went for a young loose cannon rookie to an older loose cannon vet but he more than earned the respect of the garage, the media, the fans, and me. I write this to say love you KB. I’ll miss you!