Ryan: Kyle Busch was the highly talented lightning rod of NASCAR who loved wearing the black hat

Kyle Busch, whose legendary brashness often brought boos raining down from tens of thousands in the grandstands, once joked about being the most popular driver in NASCAR. This was tongue in cheek, because it came smack in the middle of Dale Earnhardt Jr. ’s 15-year run of being voted the most popular driver.

Busch, in his delightfully devilish way that was adored by some and abhorred by others, had another way to look at it. Kyle Busch, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, has died at age 41 Busch won 234 races across the sport’s three national series, more than any other driver in the sport. Syd Pierre , “I think they should change it to the most loved driver,” Busch said early in the summer of 2009 when he was seemingly caught in nonstop controversies from smashing guitars to spinning rivals.

“Everyone loves Junior so he's going to get it, but if you look at things, I'm the most popular within the media talking about me all the time, most popular among the fans calling in, good or bad. “People are obsessed with everything I do. ” There were countless reasons why NASCAR fans couldn’t take their eyes off Busch’s every move for more than two decades – and many of them revolved around Busch’s immense talent behind the wheel of any race car.

The two-time Cup Series champion scored a NASCAR-record 234 victories across NASCAR’s top three national series. With 63 Cup victories, he ranks ninth all time in NASCAR’s premier series. With wins at nearly every track in NASCAR, he is a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer.