Dale Earnhardt Jr. Admits He Was “Pretty Surprised” as NASCAR’s Public Enemy No.1, Kyle Busch Changed His Perception

Kyle Busch has always been a polarizing personality in the world of NASCAR. He has more often than not divided fans with his on and off-track antics. However, something happened this past Sunday. Something that may have changed the whole perspective with which fans see the new Richard Childress Racing driver. This past weekend, Kyle Busch won his first race of the season at Auto Club Speedway, and while doing so, he left quite a positive impact on the spectators.

Former NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr, spoke about this on his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Weighs in on Kyle Busch’s Changing Image

He said, “I was pretty surprised… I had friends texting me going man, ‘I’m having all these conflicting emotions… uh… I never liked Kyle, I don’t wanna pull for Kyle but now he’s driving a Chevy and I like RCR and…  they’re all like having these interesting emotions about Kyle going to, you know, going onto winning this race.”

The Daytona 500 winner continued, Ultimately, I think in general, everybody’s pretty happy about it. You know, I don’t hear anybody going ‘Damn I hated that! I wish that didn’t happen’, right? Nobody’s acting that way, am I right?”

Earnhardt Jr‘s observation about Kyle Busch’s changing image in the NASCAR fanbase raises an interesting question about how much a driver’s success on the track affects their popularity. It’s not uncommon for drivers to have their fair share of supporters and detractors. But when a driver has a string of victories, it can change the way people view them.

Mike Davis, co-host of the Dale Jr. Download, added, “9% of the people on Jeff Gluck’s poll said that it was a bad race. I don’t know who those 9% are… but they’re falling off their rockers. People out there are gonna say it, I don’t know who they are.” 

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Interestingly, Kyle Busch’s recent win is not the only thing that has helped him win the hearts of NASCAR fans.

How Kyle Busch’s image is transforming from a simple number font change

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In 2008, Busch was possibly seen as a villain in the sport after he was involved in a wreck with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond. Busch was booed by the crowd after the incident, and his reputation was arguably tarnished. However, in recent years, he has worked hard to change his image and has even been dubbed “Rowdy 2.0” by some fans.

One aspect of Busch’s new image is the number font on his car. Earnhardt Jr. commented, “the number font, so they have that old block 8 and that new 8 on that car is like, I like it.. I like the new number font.”

Could this seemingly small change be part of the reason why fans are warming up to Busch?

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In the end, Kyle Busch’s win has sparked an interesting discussion about how a driver’s success on the track can change their image in the eyes of the fans. It also shows that even a small change, like a number font, can make a difference. As the NASCAR season continues, it will be interesting to see how Busch’s changing image affects his popularity with fans.