Jack Roush and Kurt Busch are preparing for their sixth season together. Credit: AP

Even as champion, Busch trying to fit in

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Kurt Busch strolled through the airport, just another guy trying to catch a plane. Few autographs. Few stares. Hardly even a glance.

Not exactly the typical reception for a NASCAR champion. But Busch knows he'll never rival Dale Earnhardt Jr. in popularity or match Jeff Gordon's sophistication.

That's OK with him.

Busch is trying to rebuild his image with the fans after a controversial 2003 season in which he feuding with Jimmy Spencer. Credit: AP

After four years of mishaps both on and off the track, Busch has finally found his niche in NASCAR.

"I was taking a commercial flight out of Los Angeles and got just one autograph request. Dale Jr. would be mobbed trying to take a commercial flight," Busch said.

"But Dale Jr. has an icon of a sponsor as well as the role he inherited from his late father. And Jeff Gordon has been in this sport for 15 years.

"It takes time to build a fan base. This is just my fifth season. You don't just come in here and expect success and popularity. You build it."

Maybe, but few have struggled to find their footing the way Busch has.

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He jumped straight into NASCAR's flagship series after just one season in the Truck Series, and the brash 22-year-old wasn't given the warmest of welcomes from his fellow competitors.

A Las Vegas native, he was an instant outsider. Tall and thin, Busch looks more like the captain of the chess team than a famous athlete.

And his use of 50-cent words and constant sarcasm bewildered the garage regulars and prevented fans from connecting with him.

He feuded with Jimmy Spencer and Kevin Harvick, complained about mistakes his Roush Racing team made, and insulted NASCAR officials over the radio.

Before he knew it, his rivals had a cache of derogatory nicknames for him ranging from "Rubberhead" to "Dumbo" and the fans had tuned him out because he constantly seemed to be whining.

Just how bad was it? When Spencer punched Busch in the face following a race, it was Busch who ended up as the bad guy.

"I was racing my heart out, didn't know if I was going to be here the next day, and when something went wrong it was like 'It couldn't be me, it couldn't be my fault,"' Busch said.

Credit: AP

"It had to be something else and I pointed to a different driver, the engines, anything but me.

"I was like the freshman in high school, trying to fit in. But I thought everyone was a wolf or a shark and I had to fight to survive. I just had too much on my plate and I said the wrong things.

"It wasn't that I thought I could lash out at everything, I was just unaware of the repercussions."

Roush Racing hired a counselor who specializes in coaching high achievers in the corporate world to work with Busch. By the time the 2004 season started, the public saw a watered down version of the smarmy little punk reputation he had built.

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He watched what he said to the media. He didn't complain very loudly when the No. 97 crew made a mistake. He kept his nose clean.

"Kurt is a guy who when he came into this sport, he wanted to win every single race and when he didn't win, he couldn't handle it," said veteran crew chief Jimmy Fenning. "Well, someone had to be blamed for Kurt not winning and he found someone most times.

"Eventually he realized that if he was ever going to be a champion, he had to harness that in."

Quiet all season, Busch flew under the radar and into NASCAR's 10-race playoff system. Then he won Round One to take the points lead, and nine races later he wrapped up his first championship. At 26 years old, he tied Jeff Gordon as the third-youngest champion in NASCAR history.

"I think I am perceived as a cool guy who can hang out and be one of the guys," Busch said. Credit: AP

With the title came a trip to the White House, a visit to NASDAQ, a stop on the "David Letterman Show" and a vacation in Tahiti. Best of all, the sudden celebrity status he has in his hometown.

"NASCAR spoils you and being champion has opened up so many other doors for me," Busch said. "It was a lifelong dream for me to win a title and now I have it and it's almost like 'Now What?'

What's next for Busch is a bid to repeat his championship and continue to build his fan base in NASCAR.

No one disputes his talent level or doubts that Busch will win more titles.

"At 26 years old, with 15 years ahead of him and still learning, there is nothing that should keep him from being recognized as one of the greatest ever over the span of his career," said Roush Racing president Geoff Smith.

Nothing, that is, except Busch himself.

Some things won't ever change -- Jeff Gordon called Busch an "idiot" following one of this week's qualifying races for the Daytona 500. But Busch firmly believes his image will get better and that he has made inroads within the racing community.

"I think I am perceived as a cool guy who can hang out and be one of the guys," Busch said. "But it wasn't always that way because before, I didn't care if I fit in.

"I just wanted to win. I thought that this level was cutthroat, because that is the way it had been on every level I had been on, and so I acted that way."