Sports writer Ryan McGee captures exactly how I feel about Kurt Busch and his complicated legacy...

[LewTheShoe]

I've seen a lot of glowing posts on here about how admired Kurt Busch is, even revered, and perfectly the opposite of how he used to be. I'll admit I don't abhor the man like I used to do, but at the same time I can't (and won't try to) forget the first dozen or so years of his NASCAR career. It's just too complicated... for me.

Kurt's early NASCAR years were headlined by boorish, angry, narcissistic behavior along with championship level talent. He won a lot of races but constantly pissed off car owners, sponsors, the press corps, race officials, and everyone else, including most fans. It was all so damaging. It was all so unnecessary. And it was very, very costly to Kurt. Fired by Roush, fired by Miller Brewing, fired by Penske... he was banished to hopeless backmarker rides where winning was impossible and so were the fat paychecks earned by star drivers.

Kurt's career hit rock bottom circa a decade ago. Gradually he began to modify his behavior. I always gave a lot of credit for this to the influence of girlfriend Patricia Driscoll... even after she proved to be batsh!t crazy and living on the wrong side of the law... and even after she tried to assassinate Kurt's career and reputation, out of spite.

Kurt has obviously mellowed over the last decade. At the very least, he has learned to manage his anger and ego and narcissism issues much better. I don't blindly assume his true underlying personality has changed as much as his public persona. But I believe our resident garage insider @Allenbaba has said Kurt is generally pleasant to work with and be around. He knows the man well, so I'll accept that.

I'm glad Kurt has been able to confront his demons and effect change. He has paid a high price, and forged a story of redemption. I genuinely wish him well and continuing success. On the racetrack, I'm sorta neutral toward the guy, but in life (and a broadcast career if he goes there) I'm definitely pulling for Kurt. [And BTW, I'm pretty certain I'll *never* reach a similar point of positive feelings toward brother Kyle, who has never taken any responsibility for his serial boorish behavior nor paid a genuine price for it. And just for the record, I wasn't the only one cheering when Kyle's left front wheel fell off yesterday... LOL.]

Sports writer Ryan McGee has penned an excellent retrospective of Kurt's career and complicated legacy. McGee captures exactly how I feel about it...

Busch stepping away leaves a complicated legacy: The winner vs. the jerk

Accomplished, talented and full of potential, Kurt Busch had it all. But what could he have achieved without his temper and penchant for drama?

www.espn.com

 

[Allenbaba]

Yeah, I mean I've been very consistent with my feelings about Kurt. What he's done in the past speaks for itself. He's made a ton of mistakes, and has grown a lot because of them. But for every "high profile" act of being a jerk are dozens of examples of him being awesome in ways that won't ever receive media attention. Constantly taking his crew out to dinners, throwing parties for them, taking them to baseball games, Monster events (Supercross, PBR, etc) constantly hanging around the shop and working with people to get better, driving the car during pit practice, you name it. He is probably more thoughtful than any other driver in the garage. Not that other drivers are all jerks...they're just not as giving or approachable, either. Plus, no other driver does more for their sponsors than Kurt, and that is not even debatable. He's very easy to work with. He's usually up for anything, and rarely needs to be asked twice.

I give him a lot of credit for his maturation. He has taken steps in his personal life to work on it, and it's really paid off.

 

[AndyMarquisLive]

Yeah, I mean I've been very consistent with my feelings about Kurt. What he's done in the past speaks for itself. He's made a ton of mistakes, and has grown a lot because of them. But for every "high profile" act of being a jerk are dozens of examples of him being awesome in ways that won't ever receive media attention. Constantly taking his crew out to dinners, throwing parties for them, taking them to baseball games, Monster events (Supercross, PBR, etc) constantly hanging around the shop and working with people to get better, driving the car during pit practice, you name it. He is probably more thoughtful than any other driver in the garage. Not that other drivers are all jerks...they're just not as giving or approachable, either. Plus, no other driver does more for their sponsors than Kurt, and that is not even debatable. He's very easy to work with. He's usually up for anything, and rarely needs to be asked twice.

I give him a lot of credit for his maturation. He has taken steps in his personal life to work on it, and it's really paid off.

Kurt Busch was very cordial first time I met him. And this was during his rock bottom phase.

 

[Greg]

I used to root against him more than any other driver. It has been great to watch him mature and overcome those demons.

Redemption is a great story and I think he is a good role model. I think everyone is flawed to varying degrees. Kurt turned it all around and became a better person he deserves the greatest respect and should be a source of encouragement to anyone else that is fighting a similar battle.

 

[Mr. Gregory]

I've flip-flopped on Kurt's little brother over the years. I liked him when he was with Hendrick, was excited when he first went to Gibbs and then quickly soured on him, and now that he's going to RCR, a team I have never been crazy about, I somehow like him again.

On the other hand, I have pretty much always liked Kurt, through thick and thin. As I've said before, I was a Ford fan when I was younger thanks to my late dear ol' dad, so the fact that Kurt started out with Roush definitely helped him out a lot with me. That 2004 season was one of my favorite seasons ever. I couldn't believe that Kurt actually pulled it off that year and beat both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson for the title. Even when he got into the stickiest of situations, like at Homestead when his tire just popped right off of his car, Lady Luck smiled on him and gave him a second chance to somehow turn it into a good points day. It was unreal. That was the first year of The Chase, and NASCAR has been trying to artificially replicate the drama that happened that year with the championship ever since.

Heck, even after he snapped at my girl Jamie Little and Dr. Jerry Punch, the latter of which the article writer pointed out, and after he got snippy with a few other reporters, including a female ESPN reporter whose name escapes me at the moment, I still liked him. I just thought he needed to calm down a little. Hah! Understatement of the century. I was glad to hear the news that he was seeking help for his anger issues.

I obviously don't know Kurt or any of the rest of the drivers personally, so I have no idea what he was like back then or is like now behind closed doors. However, I can say without hesitation that he has definitely gotten himself under control publicly, and I commend him for that. It was really nice to hear everyone cheering for him last year when he beat Kyle for the win at Atlanta. The fans as a whole had obviously started to come around well before that, but that felt like a full circle moment to me.

I'll miss seeing Kurt on the track and wish him the best of luck with his recovery and with whatever he decides to do moving forward.