Edwards Wins More Than Just a Race At Bristol, Has Busch To Thank
Written by Rocky Kitts · August 24, 2008
Let me use a little bit of pro wrestling slang if you don’t mind.
Kyle Busch is easily the best heel in NASCAR. What does that mean? It means more than just being unpopular with a majority of people. It means being downright hated by a bunch of people. It means being hated to the point to where you make other drivers more popular just because they beat you. It means that you are so hated that the crowd would rather see you lose, than they would their driver win.
I never thought that I would see the day that a driver got a bigger chorus of boos at Bristol than Jeff Gordon. Gordon has always been public enemy number one at Bristol. Not anymore. The chorus of jeers that rained down on Kyle Busch from the grandstands of the Sharpie 500 left no doubt as to who’s number one on the most wanted poster. Kyle’s not just hated, he’s despised.
When introduced, Carl Edwards got a nice little mix of cheers and jeers, but there were many drivers more popular than Carl and there were a few that were more hated than Carl. The crowd seemed fairly indifferent to the man who has been the second-most dominant driver in NASCAR this season.
That all changed when he passed Kyle Busch for the lead. When he passed Busch for the lead, Edwards took a crowd that had gotten a little sleepy, and a little restless from what looked like another easy Busch victory, and he popped them for a response that was worthy of any high moment in sports. You could hear the crowd hold their breath as they hoped that Carl could hang on to win, and when he did they erupted. He had beaten the bad guy. Cousin Carl had taken the white hat off the rack and used it to hold off the hated Busch brother.
And then there was the after-race activity. Let me tell you; if you thought the crowd popped when Edwards passed Busch for the lead, that pop was nothing in comparison to the one that Edwards received when he responded to Kyle’s bump by ramming him, hard. The crowd ate Edwards up, and when his interview aired on the big screen, and he said, “my left arm must have slipped”, the crowd laughed. The bad guy had gotten his, and Carl Edwards left Bristol the most popular driver of the night. I bet he sold a few more t-shirts, and I bet he’ll here a few more cheers next week. And next year when he comes back to Bristol, he’ll find out that Bristol fans have long memories, and he can expect more than a mix of applause.
And in a way he owes that to Kyle Busch. Every sport needs a bad guy. The New York Yankees come to mind. The New England Patriots have turned into that for the NFL over the past few years. There needs to be someone so good that people will tune in just to see them get beat. Kyle has that. Then, when you throw in Kyle’s attitude, which rubs many fans the wrong way, there is no doubt that he is probably the most hated man in NASCAR among fans right now.
Kyle’s not going to lose any sleep about that, nor should he. He’s comfortable in his role, and in reality, NASCAR needs him in that role. Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards was the man who went toe-to-toe with Superman and didn’t flinch.
That win helped Carl much more than the loss hurt Kyle. Kyle’s still first in the points race; and Kyle will win again, and in the process, he’ll probably get more heat for himself, and then the whole thing can start all over again. Someone has got to be the bad guy, or there’s nothing to by which to judge the good guys; and Kyle Busch is one hell of a measuring stick.
Right now Kyle Busch is Ric Flair back in the day. You love to boo him, and you love to watch him get beat, and you have to admit that he’s good at what he does. Whether you like it, or whether you don’t.
I’ll have the race breakdown with the G, B, and U tonight or tomorrow; in the meantime, I hope that you enjoyed the race as much as I did.
Rocky Kitts watches entirely too much NASCAR and old pro wrestling, and thinks that the “I Quit” match between Tully Blanchard and Magnum T.A was the greatest match of all time. He can also be reached at wwwthreestrikesandout@yahoo.com.
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Hey Rocky, great article. Can you move it to the featured section? My Pocono one has been up there for weeks now (and I wasn’t the one that moved it there in the first place). It’s pretty old to be “featured”.
Oh, and I couldn’t agree more that NASCAR needs Busch badly. With these crappy cars putting on crappier and crappier shows, we need more drama and emotion. He brings that, and brings it *hard*.
Thanks for the kind words, good sir. I was indifferent toward the COT at the start, but after seeing the way that tracks like Bristol are being raced now, I’m starting to really dislike it. There just hasn’t been the same amount of beating and banging that I’m used to seeing.
Come on guys, give the COT a break. The lack of bangin’ and bashin’ was due to the track changes, as in the added banking.
As for Carl, he’s been prayin’ for the chance to nudge Kyle for weeks and said as much (I think) a couple of races ago. Without some kind of driver rivalries it’s just not as much fun. And it’s even better when they are 1-2 in the standings.
We’re going to have to agree to disagree on the COT, lol, but there is no doubt that rivalries make NASCAR races much better. And it’s impossible to have a good rivalry if both drivers are not successful. Kyle and Curt has all the makings of a good one. I’m sure there will be quite a few people that will tune in for the next race to see if Kyle takes some liberties with Carl, if he gets the chance.