A tiger in the tank

NASCAR young gun Kyle Busch talks fishing, racing and growing up too fast

Kyle Busch and Clark Wendlandt have more than Kellogg’s in common.

Sure, the young-gun NASCAR racer and the venerable bass pro both spend their working days wearing clothing emblazoned with Tony the Tiger. But when the two of them got together recently for a few hours on North Carolina’s Lake Norman, it was hard not to imagine the sum of competitive ability riding in that boat.

Wendlandt has made a name for himself in the angling world not only on the strength of his accomplishments, which are many – he’s a two-time Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year. But he also has a reputation for being one of the most competitive people in the sport of bass fishing.

The same could be said of Busch in his field, though he takes a lot of criticism – some warranted, some not – due to his youth. The man with the fierce racing attitude beneath the Tony the Tiger suit is only 22 years old.

His young age and need for speed propelled him into competitive racing in his early days in Las Vegas, and when he’s not lapping competitors on the track, he enjoys adventurous pursuits such as off-roading in the sand dunes. Slowing down for a fish with Wendlandt was a nice way for Busch to take a load off and learn a few things.

“I like to fish – it’s fun, it’s relaxing,” Busch said. “It’s something to go out on the water, take a few guys with you, and have a good time. But I’m not experienced enough to know all the different lures you can use. For me, I like the easy way. I’ll throw a bottle out with a minnow and let that thing do its job.”

Busch could stand a little relaxation – a grueling 36-race schedule and countless sponsor obligations keep him hopping practically 24-7. That lifestyle is also something with which Wendlandt can identify.

“We had a great day – it was fun being out there with him,” Wendlandt said. “Corporate sponsorship is awfully important for NASCAR, and it’s really important for us. It was an honor to fish with him.”

Unfortunately, the pair weren’t exactly breaking the reel in their three or so hours on Lake Norman – between the two of them, only one bass was caught, by Wendlandt.

“We did OK,” said the ever-competitive Busch. “It was fun and nice to talk to him and get to know him a bit. It was cool to have a reference to what they do compared to what we do.”

Rapid ascension

Just as nearly all competitive fishermen first pick up a rod at an early age alongside their families, Busch was racing with his dad and brother – fellow driver Kurt Busch – as a young child. By 10, he was working on his brother’s cars, and by 13, he was driving his own. By 20, he was racing in NASCAR’s big leagues – the Nextel Cup Series, soon becoming the youngest driver in the history of the series to win a race.

“At school, the teachers would give us the last five or 10 minutes of class time to work on our homework, and I could usually get my homework done,” Busch said of how he balanced it all while still a youngster. “I never had any at home that I had to do – I just got out in the garage and started working on racecars.”

Though he’s been at it his whole life, driving at the highest level wasn’t necessarily his aim the entire time.

“Racing in the beginning was fun and enjoyable for us – kind of like families that go to the lake,” Busch said. “We liked to go to the racetrack, and when we got a little bit older, my brother and I saw there was an opportunity to become professional about it, and we got a little more serious. Once we got here, it became a job. You still want to keep the fun in it, but on the other hand, there are so many people involved that you’ve got to make sure you’re on top of stuff.”

And while many comparisons have been made between NASCAR and the quickly expanding world of competitive fishing, the group mentality is something that eludes anglers – a fact Busch noted.

“I think (the two sports) compare, because I know (Wendlandt) has things he has to do for Kellogg’s, like we do,” Busch said. “But as far as the racing side, he is like his own driver, his own mechanic, his own crew chief. He’s the one-man show. We take 17 guys to the racetrack every Sunday.”

Fast boats, faster cars

Bearing responsibility for the employment and livelihood of a vast network of people is quite a load to bear for a 22-year-old who just wanted to race. To get away from it all, Busch can take his boat out – it’s not a bass boat, mind you – as he lives on the shores of Lake Norman.

“It’s not a fishing boat; it’s just a wakeboard boat,” he said. “If the weather’s a little cloudy, I’ll go out and fish, but when it’s sunny and hot, I’m going to be messing around with the wakeboards and water skiing.”

As Busch and Wendlandt were pulling in to the docks, Wendlandt showed off some of what a high-powered Ranger can do, taking Busch through some pretty tight turns and maneuvers before the two called it a day.

“It’s fun to be able to go wide open on the water,” Busch said. “You never know what’s around the next bump. When it’s glassy smooth, you know what to expect, but when it’s a little rough, it’s fun to jump other people’s wakes and just have a good time.”

When Busch decides to go fishing, he typically goes with family or friends, but he admits he’s no expert.

“I like to fish for anything that’ll bite,” he said. “But it’s hard to get them to bite. Bass are fun. I live on the lake, so I can go out anytime, but I’ve also fished on Lake Mead out in Vegas. When we’re at the Homestead racetrack (in Miami), there’s a little pond, and we just shore-fish there. It’s fun.”

With his experience far more concentrated at the track than on the lake, Busch took advantage of the opportunity he had to learn from one of fishing’s finest.

“I was trying to get (Wendlandt) to teach me how to cast in tight spots,” he said. “Down through docks and stuff like that, you can get into a really tight hole and try to find fish in their habitat, and not necessarily out in the open. I’m trying to learn how to do that.”

A lot to learn

With his young age, Busch knows he still has a lot to learn in a lot of areas, not the least of which is his racing career, despite the fact that he has already found an enviable amount of success. In addition to being the series’ youngest winner, he was also the rookie of the year in 2005. Even if all of that hadn’t happened, the fact that he landed a spot on the top team in racing – Hendrick Motorsports, home to Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson – says plenty about his abilities.

“My proudest moment so far is making it here as young as I am and being able to become a professional racecar driver at 18 years old, the minimum age requirement,” he said. “My goals are to win as many races as I can, and the other goal is to win a championship, of course – if not just one, then maybe a couple.”

Busch’s rapid ascent to the top at such a young age has naturally and perhaps inevitably led to a few mistakes – many made not on the track but rather with his mouth – that have given him a bit of a reputation as a hotshot that he is trying desperately to overcome. In fact, he said patience on the racetrack is probably the No. 1 thing he still needs to learn. When asked what he wished people knew about him, his 22-year-old answer was that he wanted people to remember that he is still just a kid with a very grown-up job.

“I like to goof off and play around as much as I can,” he said. “When the limelight is around you, you have to be serious, and you’re representing companies. There are thousands of people across the nation who have a job because of what you do. You’d like to goof around and mess with your friends, and when I’m around them, I can, but when you’re in the limelight, you can’t. You’re at your job.”

Not only is Busch dealing with the harsh glare of the limelight at such a young age, he is coping with it with the skills that he has, which are quite different from others in his peer group simply because of his upbringing at the racetrack.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You come in here even though when you race throughout growing up, you’re not around kids much. You’re not around your friends a lot. You’re around the older crowd, and you grow up a lot faster. I feel like you don’t get to learn the ropes of getting in trouble, hanging out past curfew and learning the consequences, because I never got into much trouble. But when you get up to this league, you understand that there’s more on the line, and you can get yourself into some tough spots.

“Being as young as I am, I make mistakes, and I have to learn from my mistakes. You’re thrown at it so young, with so many demands on you, that you don’t know what to do sometimes.”

Paying it forward

That said, Busch said the gig definitely has its advantages. Just as sponsors of competitive fishing and their team members are known for reaching out to the community and trying to make a difference, Busch is known for the same, recently establishing the Kyle Busch Foundation to help provide for less fortunate children.

“If you’re with a young sponsor like Kellogg’s, they’re kid-drawn,” Busch said. “I like kids. It’s fun hanging out with them and going to schools and doing neat things like that.”

Critics, take note. There’s a new kid in town, and he’s got far more up his sleeve than the ability to race your socks off. And thanks to Wendlandt, he just might outfish you now, too.