What's Kurt Busch to do?

"Kurt Busch has the charisma of a jar of mayonnaise."

That was the comment that jumped up and grabbed my attention in the NASCAR.COM chatroom during Busch's press conference following his win in Michigan. No doubt it was worthy of a chuckle, but in the end, it made me wonder what in the world we want from Busch because -- even if the metamorphosis isn't complete -- the Penske driver is a changed man.

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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In fairness, to say Busch has had a bit of a checkered past with NASCAR fans is like saying North Korea has a small credibility problem in the community of nations. I get it; Kurt didn't win Mr. Popularity at the Driver / Fan senior prom. In fact the distaste for his antics goes across NASCAR lines into mainstream sports. In February 2006, GQ listed him as number 3 on its list of "most hated" athletes -- just behind Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens ... ouch!

Busch's comment to a Phoenix area police officer who stopped Kurt in 2005 makes a sane person wince, "Aren't you supposed to be directing traffic somewhere?" The run-in was the last straw for Roush Fenway Racing who soon after got out of the business of being "Kurt Busch apologists."

My point though is not to bash Busch, but again to ask -- what more do we want from the guy or any of our sports stars who try to alter their personality in order to please fans, sponsors and the media? Busch has tried, in some sense, to change the very fiber of who he is -- often with mixed results.

Clearly, he has made sweeping changes in his public persona. Following his win in Michigan, the first thing I heard from his in-car audio was "It's Miller Time." This is the same guy that almost lost his sponsorship from Newell Rubbermaid after he won the championship in 2004. Now he is a sponsors dream.

He truly appears to be a fiery guy who sometimes loses control on the track, but now his press conferences are about as entertaining as an afternoon spent reformatting a hard drive. He was portrayed as too arrogant and to a large extent that might have been true, but the guy is in his twenties. Does this label last a lifetime?

Busch is not the first famous athlete to feel "burned" by the fans or media in the past. Usually the athlete who feels victimized clams up and gives stock answers to thoughtful questions in order to avoid having their feet put to the fire again.

In fact, Tiger Woods thought he was off the record with a GQ (how did they get into this story twice) reporter early in his career and when his comments were printed -- the world's best golfer felt violated and henceforth took on a more guarded nature in his public dealings. The disappointing side to this is that privately Woods is known to be quite intelligent and no doubt has much more to offer everyone with his thoughts and influence on a wide array of subjects.

Unfortunately we live in the age of the sanitized vanilla corporate pitchman / athlete -- notice which word was last in the previous sentence. So much money is involved across the sports landscape at the intersection of athletes and sponsorship that of late, the actual event seems a bit lost. Worse still, at this point it doesn't seem like there is any going back.

For some reason that I will never understand, people tend to buy products athletes endorse and to their credit NASCAR drivers "get it" more than most other professional sportsmen and women. This is to say that prior to expressing their honest joy at winning, fans can expect a contrived comment that is more staged than the Trojan Horse and is often painful to watch. Just last week, Steve Williams talked to me about this. Still, no matter how awful the delivery, the sale still works and right now Busch is working wonders for Miller Lite.

My guess is if Kurt were to give us his true feelings on his sponsor, instead of maniacally screaming "It's Miller Time" as he crossed the finish line, Kurt would say something simple, not derogatory but not hyperbolic either -- something to the effect of "it's a pretty good beer, much like Budweiser and Coors -- nothing life altering, but it tastes good when cold." That is an honest answer to just about anyone's thoughts on the relative taste of Miller Lite. Still, Busch plays the game like everyone tells him to.

The sad truth for Kurt is he has made significant improvements in what it appeared people wanted from him but still, to his detractors, it is no good. These days he is a less controversial subject (save the Tony Stewart pit incident), he is less of a media lightning rod, and he is a better corporate pitchman. However, with all of these improvements, NASCAR fans somehow find reason to dislike him. Why? Apparently the changes that have remedied to a large extent his objectionable behavior have made him, well, not objectionable enough. Don't think about that rationale too long because your brain will seep right into your stomach. Trust me, I know.

In the end all of this has to have the driver of the No. 2 car wondering what the hell these people want from him which brings me to...

Question of the Week

Do you prefer a driver who says what's on his mind even if he occasionally ruffles some feathers and sticks his foot in his mouth or do you prefer a more politically correct driver who is typically very media savvy? Answer this one for Kurt's sake so he knows whether to be himself or not.

Last Week's QOW

In the previous column I asked if you, the fans, thought NASCAR should have more road course races and for the second week in a row we have a blow out in the survey.

Yes -- 85.4%
No - 14.6%

This, at once, stunned and delighted me. Personally, I know road course racing isn't the history of the sport, but I have to say I find the events very entertaining. Below is the best of the responses.

If NASCAR is going to branch north of the border or south to Mexico with a Cup date, they will be on the road course. So kill two birds with one stone and do it.
Bowmanville, Ontario

Many fans from the land of the Maple Leaf sounded off on this question and if they keep churning out races like the Montreal Busch race it will be hard to deny them a Cup Race.

While adding a road course or two would be good it shouldn't be at the expense of Darlington a place that both fans and race drivers love.
Joseph -- London

Solid point... unfortunately someone has to lose a race for a road course to be added.

Absolutely. What began as dreadful boring events on the schedule have become, next to the two Bristol races, the must-see events to circle on the calendar? Hopefully NASCAR is listening to the fans and drivers.
John -- Denver

(resisting every temptation to throw in a ridiculous John Denver line) From your keyboard to my column to NASCAR's ears.

Chatroom Chatter

You guys are the one's that inspired the above column so I owe you.

Maybe Teresa can sell the No. 8 rights to raise engine building money!
Brad -- Norwalk, Iowa

It's too bad the guy who earns all the money for her wouldn't benefit from any possible decent engines those funds would bring in.

A good day for Toyota. Nice to see Vickers in the top 10.
Heath -- Des Moines, Iowa

In Michigan, Toyota made history. That can't sit well with the American auto companies. Now, when and where will they win a race? It's going to happen.

I hate to say it, but Jr. may be finished for 2007.
Kenny -- Japan

When you get a second like he did in Pocono three weeks ago and lose ground, you know you are in trouble.

Finally, a reminder that the Jack Daniel's Post Race Show will be on site in Bristol so be sure to stop by and say hi if you are lucky enough to track us down. I've gone on record and picked Tony Stewart. If he wins, I'll no doubt be incorrigible which always makes for a good time.

Enjoy Bristol.