Sure, Kyle Busch winning at Fontana may have surprised some, but it was just a two-time Cup champion who has won a race for 19 seasons in a row winning the 61st race of his Cup career. Not that surprising he won another.

However, what was surprising was that, Busch, who is notorious for how divisive he is among the fans, in the sense one either loves him or one hates him, with the driver attracting cheers from some and boos from others, only attracted cheers in California.

There was no booing for KFB.

But Brett Griffin, the NASCAR spotter, has a theory as to why the tide is turning in terms of how fans perceive Busch, and according to him, a big part of that change is the change he made between 2022 and 2023.

“I don’t think this is crazy, but him going back to Chevrolet helps his brand. He’s back to where he started and Chevrolet has a huge following and it helps his brand to be back there,” Griffin said in a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast. “I think it gets some of the haters to get off his back.”

And even though the spotter is of the opinion that Busch would “instigate” most of the things that had fans booing him, he is not doing that right now.

“Maybe he is getting wiser in his old age,” Griffin reasoned.

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Tony Stewart had also noticed the changed attitude towards Busch

The fact that Busch didn’t get any boos, or certainly not as much as he used to before, was something which wasn’t lost on Tony Stewart either. The Hall of Famer who was sitting in the FOX booth, pointed at the changed attitude of the fans towards Busch as he got out of his car on the frontstretch.

“We didn’t hear the boos we’re used to hearing, that was a different tone. They know this is an uphill battle for him making a change in organizations like this,” he said.

Smoke added that fans usually back the underdog, which Busch was, considering the turmoil he has witnessed in the last 12 months.

Kyle Busch on the importance of his Fontana win

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Speaking in a post-race interview, Kyle Busch opened up on the importance of winning, and in particular, this Fontana win and what it meant for him. He emphasized that there’s “nothing more rewarding” than going to the victory lane.

Busch also claimed that this particular win ranks pretty high for him in all of his 61 wins simply because it proved to him, “[he] can do it.” 

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