Opinion: Kyle Busch makes the transition from villain to hero

NASCAR racing is a unique sport in terms of the athlete-fan relationship, something that can and does drastically change over a driver's career.

For years, Jeff Gordon was vilified for having the temerity to win so often and in the process defeat Dale Earnhardt, the man who unquestionably was the sport's biggest hero of his era and maybe ever.

When Gordon did his victory burnout after winning at Talladega in 2007, fans hurled beer can after beer can onto the frontstraight. Gordon had just surpassed Earnhardt's career victory total with his 77th race win, and worse yet, he did it on what should have been "The Intimidator's" 56th birthday.

That a riot was avoided on that day was fortuitous.

Flash ahead 8½ years.

When Gordon won the final race of his remarkable career last fall at Martinsville, he was treated as a conquering hero by the race fans in one of the longest and most emotional Victory Lane celebrations in NASCAR history.

Everybody cheered in a party that seemed to last for hours.

The guy who was once NASCAR's worst villain to so many had become one of its larger-than-life heroes by the time his last season rolled around.

Kyle Busch is just starting to experience what ultimately could be something similar.

You all know the story: Busch always had phenomenal talent that in his early years was sometimes overshadowed by a uncontrollable temper.

Busch was 18 when he ran his first Sprint Cup race driving for Rick Hendrick.

He will turn 31 in May, the same month his son will celebrate his first birthday.

In the time in between a lot of things have happened: 159 race victories in NASCAR's top three divisions, some poor behavior and bad decisions, finding a great woman to marry and maybe polish some of his rougher edges, becoming a father, recovering from horrifying leg and foot injuries and winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Along the way, Busch has become popular, too.

A video wife Samantha shot of him saying, 'S'up?" to a die-hard fan as they all were leaving Martinsville last Sunday got 10 million YouTube views in the first 24 hours, creating a social media buzz that may have even eclipsed Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s mayonnaise-and-banana sandwich Tweet.

It might seem like a shocking turn of events, but to Busch it isn't.

"You look at every single driver that's gone through the sport over the years and they've all kind of gone through that," Busch said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. "Every popular one maybe I should say -- Rusty (Wallace), DW (Darrell Waltrip), Dale Jarrett I think even, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon especially and (Dale) Earnhardt, so you've seen those transitions happen and I feel like this is maybe mine."

And it seems like it's coming at an ideal time.

Busch has won six of the last 27 Cup races he's run in and is having a great season so far with one victory and five top fives in six starts heading into Saturday night's Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I did start probably a lot younger than many of the other ones did and made a lot a more mistakes in my younger age than many of them did," Busch said.  "But I think it will be -- hopefully will be -- pretty memorable by the time it's all said and done."

It already is pretty memorable.

No doubt about it.

The only real question is, just how memorable will it ultimately be?

And right now, it looks like the sky's the limit.