Imagine Kyle Busch about to win a race, only for a cop to pull him over and cost him the win. Rowdy would be absolutely livid! And no, this isn’t just a hypothetical, because his long-time PR representative described this surreal situation on The Gluckast podcast.

It was 2009, and Busch was in Washington, D.C., as part of NASCAR’s Winner’s Circle Program, which sent drivers to local markets to promote upcoming races. Richmond Raceway had drawn him, and one of his scheduled stops was DC101’s popular Elliot in the Morning show. A fun promotion called the “Smell My Face Beltway Race” involved him racing DC101 personality Josh “Flounder” Schlossberg around Washington’s Capital Beltway during morning traffic before they sprinted back to the radio station. And well, things spiraled from there.

“We get ahead of Flounder towards the end of the race, and a police officer pulls him over. And so Kyle is irate. He is more than mad because he’s gonna lose the race,” Janitz said.

Six months earlier, the radio station had done something similar with IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves. There were no police stops involved that day. But having Busch behind the wheel was always going to add a different variable.

Kyle was already a household name among NASCAR fans and had won the Xfinity Series championship that year, establishing himself as a dominant and ultra-competitive driver willing to do almost anything to win. It was that mindset that earned him the nickname “Rowdy,” a reference to Rowdy Burns, the antagonist in Days of Thunder.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Busch was racing to win, even in a radio contest. Two Toyota FJ Cruisers were provided for the event. Busch climbed into one, while Flounder took the other. Janitz rode along with a camera crew and local television personality Lindsay Czarniak. “Obviously, it’s in fun. It’s not a real race, but you can still accomplish that,” he added.

The weather wasn’t helping. Rain poured down as both cars worked their way around the roughly 64-mile loop. Fans lined overpasses holding signs for both drivers. Some cheered Busch. Some cheered Flounder. Some simply reminded Busch that Washington wasn’t exactly his home turf.

“So I’m in the back, and then in the back with me is Lindsay Czarniak and a camera person. So we get going, and I quickly learned that this was probably a big mistake,” he continued.

“Flounder comes by there beating the horn — beep, beep, beep — yay! So then he is mad. And finally, the police officer lets him go.”

“So he gets going, and we go down to the end of this race. It goes through like an alley, and he is banging doors with Flounder to the end, and tore the side off this FJ Cruiser. I mean, it was messed up. Steam’s coming off of it, almost like the scene in Days of Thunder where they crash the rental cars.”

In Days of Thunder, Cole Trickle and Rowdy Burns take their rivalry off the racetrack after a crash leaves them sidelined. The two end up racing rental cars through city streets and wrecking both vehicles in the process. Janitz felt Busch’s battle with Flounder had the same energy. What started as a harmless radio promotion ended with a damaged SUV and a driver who refused to treat anything that looked like a race as just a game.

Janitz said he will never forget the look on the face of the Toyota dealership representative who had loaned them the vehicles. She arrived expecting a promotional appearance. Instead, she was handed back a battered SUV missing part of its side. “She was terrified,” he added.

The “Rowdy” Moments for Kyle Busch

If the Beltway story sounds unbelievable, it wasn’t the only time Busch’s competitive streak spilled onto public roads.

Just two years later, he found himself in real trouble. In 2011, Busch was arrested in North Carolina after being clocked at 128 mph while driving a Lexus LFA during a manufacturer promotional event. The car was worth nearly $400,000, and Busch later admitted he got carried away.

“I was test-driving a new sports car, and I got carried away. I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road,” Busch had said in a public statement, where he apologized for his actions.

The incident led to reckless driving charges, a fine, community service, and a temporary suspension of his license. Lexus also pulled the car from the program. For Busch, it became another way in which his career became about pushing limits.

That same personality showed up again in 2017 during his infamous clash with Joey Logano at Las Vegas.

The two had battled for the win in the closing laps, with Logano making contact with Busch’s car while fighting for the lead. Busch felt Logano had raced him too aggressively and cost him a shot at victory. After the race, an angry Busch marched down pit road, confronted Logano, and threw a punch. The swing missed as Logano’s crew members stepped in and quickly broke up the confrontation.

It was total pandemonium.

The name Rowdy wasn’t given to Kyle Busch for no reason. At times, he could be wild, emotional, and competitive. But that same win-at-all-costs mentality also helped him reach incredible heights.

In 2015, he returned from a devastating leg injury, won five races despite missing the first 11 events of the season, and captured the Cup Series championship in one of the greatest comeback stories NASCAR has ever seen.

The intensity that occasionally got him into trouble was the same intensity that made him one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history. And if Janitz’s story proves anything, it’s that Busch never seemed to care whether there was a trophy on the line or not. If somebody put him in a race, he was going to try to win it.

There will never be another Kyle Busch. In the wake of his tragic passing earlier this month, it’s a good time to remember the moments that earned him the Rowdy nickname. They may have been chaotic at times, but they also reflected the fierce competitor who earned the respect of fans, rivals, and the NASCAR garage alike.