The NASCAR community is still trying to grasp a future without Kyle Busch, and we at Motorsport.com thought that a good way to memorialize him would be to highlight some of Rowdy’s most unforgettable moments — the good, bad, and downright hilarious.
So, every week where it is applicable, we will select our favorite Kyle Busch memories from whatever track is next up on the NASCAR calendar. This weekend is Nashville, and there’s no shortage of moments to pick from.
And yes, we know that you’re already thinking about that smashed up guitar, and while that wasn’t the NASCAR legend’s only ‘Rowdy’ moment in Music City, it was the most memorable, so let’s begin there:
Nashville 2009: Smashing the custom guitar … and lighting the track on fire
Kyle Busch smashes guitar in Victory Lane
Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images
This was not a popular move at the time, but now, we look back on it and just laugh. Most drivers hold up the winning guitar and smile for the cameras while admiring the artistry. But Rowdy? He smashed the custom $25,000 Gibson Les Paul guitar on the ground before tossing its twisted remnants to the team. Now, it turns out that he had promised to break it apart so each member of the crew could take home a piece of the ‘trophy,’ but that didn’t soften the public reaction.
This happened during the O’Reilly race and was Busch’s first win at Nashville. Sam Bass, who was responsible for the design, later expressed disappointment with the move. Many fans weren’t impressed either, and some even wanted him suspended! Beyond that, the music community even chimed in with some very negative feedback. Busch later reconciled with Bass, and he bought several replicas to make amends … but not before a very entertaining press conference addressing the controversy the following week (see below video).
Also, did we mention that the guitar smash came during the same post-race celebration where he ignited the rear of the car mid-burnout? There were black scorch marks visible on the concrete in his wake. It was a truly wild celebration in Nashville that night.
“You know him man, if it ain’t spectacular, it ain’t no fun,” the team said over the radio after the fiery burnout.
Kyle Busch fiery burnout
Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Nashville 2010-2011: Back-to-back wins in the Trucks
Kyle Busch and artist Sam Bass in Victory Lane
Photo by: David J. Griffin – Icon Sportswire – Getty Images
Busch won back-to-back spring Truck races at Nashville in 2010 and 2011 — and it was pure dominance. In 2010, he led 131 of 150 laps from pole, slicing through backmarkers as ‘The Closer’ Kevin Harvick got within a few car lengths. The following year, he returned and was even more dominant than the season prior. He led 140 of 150 laps from pole, passing Ron Hornaday Jr. on a four-to-go restart and driving away from the pack. He led over 90% of laps between those two races. There was also a cool pic of artist Sam Bass hanging with KB in Victory Lane, which was great to see after the 2009 controversy.
Nashville 2019: Epic Broadway burnout after Cup title
Now, this wasn’t the actual race, but we still wanted to include it. Nashville sadly fell off the NASCAR calendar after 2011 before returning a decade later, but in between, Nashville became the new home of the end-of-year Award’s Ceremony for a little while.
In 2019, Busch won his second Cup Series championship, making him the guest-of-honor in Nashville. During Champion’s Week, there was a burnout show on Broadway, and it should come as no surprise that ‘Wild Thang’ gave us the best show.
Remember a few weeks ago when Carson Hocevar hung out of his car while burning it down at Talladega? Well, Busch did something similar, hanging out of the car with his hands in the air as the champ vanished in the smoke. He then climbed out of the car, and like a proper Vegas-born magician, waited for the smoke to clear before bowing to the screaming crowd.
Kyle Busch Champion’s Week burnout in Nashville
Photo by: Terry Wyatt Getty Images
Nashville 2021: A special win, and this time, he spared the guitar
After a decade away, NASCAR was back on the concrete Nashville oval, and you know Busch was eager to collect another guitar. He entered the O’Reilly race, won the pole, led 122 of 189 laps, and won again. But he also had to battle Justin Allgaier in an overtime restart to claim the checkered flag.
“I saw a lot of you standing up when Allgaier took the lead, and then a lot of you sat back down when I got the lead,” said Busch to the very loud crowd.
But this was no ordinary win, either. It was Busch’s 100th in the secondary level of NASCAR. No driver had ever come close to doing that in the O’Reilly Series, and only two others had ever reached triple digits in any of the individual top three divisions — legends Richard Petty and David Pearson — both in Cup.
The crowd showered him with boos as he celebrated the incredible achievement. He ended his O’Reilly career with 102 victories, and the next-closest to his win tally is Mark Martin with 49 — very impressive, but not even halfway to KB.
Oh, and as for the guitar … Busch indicated that he was going to smash it yet again, and even made it look like he was about to follow through in Victory Lane, but it was all a tease and the guitar remained in one piece … this time.
Nashville 2022: Can’t turn? Just wall-ride…
Running second behind race leader Chase Elliott during a late-race caution in 2022, Busch was hoping to win a Cup race in Music City for the first time. He was among those that chose to pit in overtime, but the call did not work out. He opted for two tires, while pretty much every car that pitted with him took four. Busch then got held up behind other drivers on the restart, and even had to lift to avoid a near-incident ahead of him.
Struggling to turn and losing ground, he decided to gently put the car against the outside wall and just rode the wall throughout the final lap. Yes, he rode the wall months before Ross Chastain’s world-famous Martinsville maneuver. He still finished outside the top 20, but it was a fairly entertaining moment as KB thought outside the box in an effort to make the corner.
Nashville 2024: “He gets a response, no matter what”
Kyle Busch after crash
Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Busch was running fourth behind Kyle Larson in overtime this year. With several cars running on fumes, Larson stalled out on the restart, stacking up the outside line. Busch got turned from behind in the process, crashing into the outside wall. Despite several attempts to get back rolling, the car wouldn’t cooperate.
As he did burnouts on the frontstretch in an attempt to carry on, the crowd roared. “He gets a response, no matter what,” said Steve Letarte from the broadcast booth. “Victory Lane, he gets a response, having issues, he gets a response.”
Busch then pointed at the damage and threw his hands up in the air, getting an even louder reaction from the crowd. That’s Rowdy, for you.
Kyle Busch Nashville NASCAR Stats
NASCAR CUP: 5 starts / 0 wins / 0 poles / 0 top fives / 1 top ten / 76 laps led
O’REILLY: 11 starts / 2 wins / 3 poles / 5 top fives / 6 top tens / 612 laps led
TRUCKS: 3 starts / 2 wins / 2 top fives / 2 top tens / 271 laps led
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
