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| Busch celebrates his Cup win at Bristol Motor Speedway. |
Busch's Tennessee coup, along with his confrontation with Brad Keselowski and his taunting of the Bristol crowd, has once again got people talking 'bout Rowdy - for better or worse.
One faction has dubbed him the best thing to happen to NASCAR since Dale Earnhardt. Others say Busch IS the new Earnhardt. Meanwhile, those who disagree call such comparisons with The Intimidator pure NASCAR blasphemy.
Granted, there's a great biographical rift separating the two drivers. For one, hardscrabble Earnhardt dropped out of school to work as a mechanic while Busch learned to drive on a Vegas cul-de-sac.
But what's more to the point is how well do fans really know the accomplishments of either driver? Are their driving personalities so similar that comparisons are warranted, or is this all a bunch of bunk?
To that end, answer the questions below with either "Busch" or "Earnhardt" and judge for yourself . Click on the comments for the answers.
1. Who has more Cup wins during his first five full-time years in Cup competition? (full-time meaning years in which the driver ran every race)?
2. Who has the most wins in what's now the Nationwide Series?
3. Who has more wins in a single Cup season?
4. Who won the Cup championship his first full-time season in the sport?
5. Who said the following -
"Second place is just the first place loser."
"It's no secret how much I want to win as a driver, and I want to win as a team owner just as badly."
"If you're not a race driver, stay the hell home. Don't come out here and grumble about going too fast."
"We were lucky, but a lot of times you make your own luck."
"If I had to go back and do it all over again, which I can't, I'd probably do it again"
"I'm not happy unless I am winning,"
"You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones."
"I was either going to move him out of the way or he was going to get out of the way."
"I was waving at the crowd."
"You've got to be closer to the edge than ever to win. That means sometimes you go over the edge, and I don't mean driving, either."
Quiz answers: 1)Busch had 16 wins his first five full-time years in Cup. Earnhardt had 10. 2) Busch. Busch has 40 NNS wins in 8 years. Earnhardt had 21 wins in 13 years. 3) Earnhard had 11 Cup wins in 1987. The most Busch has in a single season so far is 8 Cup wins in 2008. 4) Earnhardt. 5) Quotes are attributed in this order: Earnhardt. Busch. Earnhardt. Earnhardt. Busch. Busch. Earnhardt. Busch. Earnhardt. Earnhardt.
ReplyDeleteComparing "E" to "B"..are you kidding me ? Lets have this discussion about 10 years from now. How many titles will Bush have after 15 years ? I'll guess...1....how many did Big E have..7 enough said. Bush needs more sportsmanship. He, Tiger, and Barry Bonds can all go to lunch together. They may have talent, but they are full of themselves !!!
ReplyDeleteComparing "B" to "E" is completely valid. Their level of talent is comparable, and much as Sr.'s fans hate to admit it, their driving style and temperament are VERY similar, as shown by the comments of the two men quoted above. I am not sure Kyle is as good a points racer as Earnhardt at this stage of his career, but he does seem to be developing more patience on the days he has a "bad" car. Since Dale, Jr. is not the next "Ironhead," why not Kyle?
ReplyDeleteThe comparison is a mute point. How long did it take Dale to win his first championship? How many Cup Titles does Busch have? Without multiple championships the modern driver is nothing more than a field filler. Earnhardt also won a truck title as an owner in his second year, we'll see where Busch ends up next year. I'll predict a KHI championship with Shrub's team a distant 5th. In conclusion, talent means nothing without results.
ReplyDeleteBrought to you by redillsports.blogspot.com
Interesting stats, but somewhat misleading. Earnhardt drove in the Busch series for more years, but he had 57 fewer starts than Kyle Busch has had in Busch/Nationwide (193 for Busch, 136 for Earnhardt). Interestingly, Busch had 21 Busch/Nationwide wins over his first 138 starts (comparable to Earnhardt's 21 wins over 136 starts).
ReplyDeleteFurther in the early 80's, in both Busch and Cup racing, Earnhardt was not always in the best equipment, whereas Kyle Busch has always been in top tier equipment in both series.
Wow, Comparing Kyle Busch to Dale Sr.! Why not compare Kyle to Dale Jr. They are from the same era. But to Kyle´s favor, its obvious maybe not in the stats accomplished, but in demeanor that KB is much more comparable to Dale Sr. than his own son! If Dale Sr. where alive today, its a good bet that Kyle Busch would be driving for DEI. Simply put, Dale Sr and Kyle Busch share the element of "Fire in the Gut" something that is in short supply in the current crop of NASCAR drivers.
ReplyDeleteGive no quarter ask no quarter...That was Sr's style the difference is that Kyle expects everyone to roll over and play dead when he gets behind them and when it doesnt go his way he cries. Sr when asked by a mrn reporter "What happened?" one time after a wreck said "He out drove me and I got in a wreck...it wont happen again!" But i have to admit that I'm a Rowdy Busch fan...The driver not the crybaby.
ReplyDelete