Cheer Him, Jeer Him, Respect Him-Kyle Busch had it All

Why do the best individuals that have so much left to give seem to be snatched away?  How come those that have done it all still know there’s some things left to accomplish?

Do we really know when the finish line is approaching?

The answer to all these questions came to mind just before 6 p.m. on a Thursday evening.  A weekend that is meant to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and race in the longest, most challenging, event of the season, now shifts to also honoring an individual who made an impact in the sport his own way.

Everyone has their own way to define greatness.  How do you define it when you can’t process the loss?

Losing Kyle Busch in a way that no one could anticipate, nor even remotely consider, still feels like something that shouldn’t happen.  This is someone that lived to be in a race car, of any sort.  Whenever he had an opportunity, he took it.  Late models, sprint cars, Cup, O’Reilly, Trucks; if it had wheels, he was racing it.

For over 20 years, we saw the capability, and the desire, inside his soul for what he wanted to do.

He captivated the crowd, whether it was him in victory and taking a bow before the fans, letting the cheers and jeers hit him like a wave, or him losing and the crowd roars their approval or are stunned in silence.

The talent he possessed when he took the wheel was so great it changed NASCAR’s eligibility rules for its top level of racing.

What other driver can say that they changed rules just to race in the top tier level of the sport?

Everything he did in racing was done with a purpose, and perhaps to the extreme on occasion.  It got his teammates, fellow racers, officials, even his own team and sponsors to a point where they had to step in and tell Busch, “Hey, you need to listen.”

But, no one truly humbled him and changed his outlook until a young lady named Samantha came into his life.

At that point, the Rowdy that would ruffle feathers, wreck out of anger without care of the consequences, now had someone to keep him grounded.  It was someone that made him realize that there was something more he was racing for.

The two of them told a story that was unlike any that fans in NASCAR had seen, especially through Samantha’s struggles in having children.  When Brexton came into the picture, Busch now had a reason to be a bigger kind of role model, while also still running as hard, tough, and competitive as anyone on the track.

No more was Samantha a rock for him than in 2015, when one spin, and one hard hit left him crumbled in a heap, in pain, and eventually in casts and a wheelchair.

Little did we know what that moment would do.

There is no question that the 2015 campaign, coming back from broken legs, missing one-third of the entire season, to capture a championship that no one had ever anticipated at any point after he came back.  He became someone that even when jeered, we knew he was bound to be great on so many levels that no one was ever going to question his elite status as a driver ever again.

Whether you rooted for the 18, then the 8, or him in the 51 for select truck races, or even the 32 for some O’Reilly races, he has earned everything he deserves.

Jeer him, or cheer him, everyone for sure respected him.

Now, a plethora of fans are left to wonder what more he had left.  Many more are wondering what is next for Samantha, Brexton, and little Lennix.

We move forward, just like the sport did when we lost Kulwicki, Allison, Irwin and Petty.  We had to find a way to move forward when we lost Earnhardt, and managed to do so.

The sport forges ahead, because it has to.  The best therapy is to do what Busch would want, and that’s race.  He never had any of us dwell on when he got hurt a decade ago, and he would not want us to do the same thing today.  He’s sitting up there in the ultimate spotter position, watching everyone go around the track.  He likely is getting interviewed by Steve Byrnes, and then try to figure out how he can get past the likes of Tim Richmond, Earnhardt, Allison and Kulwicki.

Why do the best individuals that have so much left to give seem to be snatched away?  Maybe it’s because a higher power needed them more.

How come those that have done it all still know there’s some things left to accomplish?  That answer is always changing, yet maybe it’s because they know they can still make an impact.

Do we really know when the finish line is approaching?

Unfortunately, that is an open-ended question, with many open-ended answers.  Maybe Busch knew something so many of us didn’t when he took that final bow.  Maybe he knew it a week earlier asking for a doctor after the checkered flag at the Glen.  Or maybe, he knew it leading into being at the Chevrolet simulator and it was too late to be able to receive enough help.

Perhaps the idea of us not knowing is a way for us to know our time here is limited, and the next day is never a guarantee.

Busch as a father…undeniably loved.  Busch as a racer…undeniably talented.  Busch as a human being…undeniably driven.

Rowdy Forever.  Rest Easy.