Interesting history behind NASCAR's best nicknames

Love them or hate them, personalities of the NASCAR drivers are constantly a topic of conversation. A driver's color and candor is what draws fans near, or in some cases, turns them away.

And if the persona is strong enough, said driver is bound to pick up some type of moniker, nickname or perhaps a term of endearment.

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In California, I cracked up when I saw Kyle Busch's significant other wearing a T-shirt with his semi-new nickname "Rowdy" on the back.

It made me giggle and wonder, "Where do all these nicknames actually come from?"

Their personalities dictate the labels, sure, but there's a story behind most and signs to back them up.

More about the "signs" later ...

Early in his career, Busch was dubbed "Shrub" for his younger brother status to Kurt Busch; a play on words if you will. Creative, yes, but fitting for his driving style?

No.

His current name, "Rowdy Busch," fits and is perfect for the same driver who won the inaugural new car race this time last season at Bristol Motor Speedway and then said it "sucked."

The story behind the new name dates back three seasons when Busch drove for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series.

But first you need to know that in 1989 the late Bobby Hamilton drove a replicated car from the film Days of Thunder in which he qualified fifth in the Auto Works 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The car was the No. 51 Exxon-sponsored machine, portrayed in the movie as the car driven by character Rowdy Burns.

Fast forward to 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Busch drove a throwback paint scheme replicating the car Hamilton drove in support of Hamilton who was undergoing cancer treatment. The name on top of the door on Busch's truck read "Rowdy Busch" and he won the race.

Busch has kept the paint scheme, uniform design, and No. 51 for many of his Truck races and short-track efforts to pay homage to Hamilton. He's found great success in that truck and the nickname has stuck. People are now using it outside of the Truck races and he prefers this nickname over any others handed to him.

By the way, synonymous with "Rowdy" is unruly, disorderly and boisterous. Kyle Busch? Never!

As for Tony Stewart, everything but his nickname has been used to describe the driver, which most people know as "Smoke." But the story behind it? The name was born back in Stewart's Sprint Car days, 1991, when he was running USAC.

"I wasn't very good about not slipping the right-rear tire, initially," Stewart said. "So it started as 'Smoker,' then it got shortened to 'Smoke.' Then when I got in the [Indy Racing League] it was 'Smoke' because one of the guys on the crew who was my roommate, and knew the nickname, carried it over to the Indy car team. But then when I started blowing engines, 'Smoke' really stuck. I've had it ever since." (Continued)