NASCAR Cup

How do you make Kurt Busch sexy?

Kurt Busch wants to be a sex symbol but he's just no Dale Earnhardt, Jr. So how do you take the former Sharpie marker flack and make him one of the sexiest men in sports? Kurt Busch and fiancÃ©e Eva Bryan. Photo by Eric Gilbert. The ...

Published: Feb 18, 2006, 11:20 PM

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Kurt Busch wants to be a sex symbol but he's just no Dale Earnhardt, Jr. So how do you take the former Sharpie marker flack and make him one of the sexiest men in sports?

Kurt Busch and fianc?e Eva Bryan.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

The ex-Roush bad boy, voted one of the most hated sports stars in Sports Illustrated, can't just be fancied up in designer duds after having his ears pinned back and all of a sudden have the female race fans swooning. It's going to have to be an extreme makeover.

One of the key reasons Busch decided to leave Roush Racing, where he won his first Nextel Cup series championship in 2004, was because he wanted to define his personality and build his fan base.

Busch realized that to have legs in this sport you have to be able to play to the youth and female demographics. And Busch wasn't playing in any demographic.

So, he actively pursued the ride in the No. 2 Dodge at Penske Racing being vacated by Rusty Wallace. Once there, he felt there would be a chance to cast off some of the aspersions he suffered under Jack's house and emerge a whole new man.

But race fans have a long memory.

Busch's hopes of making a seamless transition from the No. 97 Ford to the No. 2 Dodge went up in smoke when he was popped for a suspected DUI in Phoenix. The drunk-driving charges never materialized, but transcripts of the arrest which showed up on thesmokinggun.com painted Busch as an arrogant hot-head with a problem for authority. Busch patronized officers and touted that they should be out directing traffic instead of harassing him for running a stop sign.

You could almost hear the gasps of the few last fans of Busch packing up their tents as merchandise sales officially grinded to a screeching halt. Former adult-sponsored beverage driver Sterling Marlin thinks making over Busch is going to be a hefty effort.

"Oh Lord, that's a challenge," proclaimed Marlin.

An apologetic Busch went head-to-head with the accusations, but without a large fan base to rally behind him, his comments pretty much fell on deaf ears. The media ripped him a new one, race fans that already hated him felt their ire was now justified, and Roush Racing won the prize for press release line of the year: "we resign as apologists of Kurt Busch effective immediately".

Kurt Busch.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

The incident made for a rocky start with Penske Racing South and Miller Lite, but so far Busch looks pretty comfortable in his new shiny blue firesuit. Perhaps, the biggest hurdle for the Las Vegas native is finding a way to be more comfortable in his own skin.

"I am very happy," said Busch. "It's not any type of confidence. It's not any type of I've got a chip on my shoulder. It's fun to smile and walk around with a Miller Lite suit on knowing the guy in charge is Roger Penske."

He has commented that PR reps Deb Williams and TR Roberts have helped convince him 'that he can loosen up a bit'. Let's face it, there has always been a lilt in his voice and a stumble in his step that made him seem awkward. His sentences didn't quite flow in a natural manner and every three dollar vocabulary word seems like a well placed semi-colon in an essay paper. Ultimately, Busch just didn't come across as genuine.

How do you make Kurt Busch sexy?

You make him a real person. You forget about elocution classes and media training and find someone who can help him put his true nature out there. You find a way to make him as relaxed and kind and fun as he is when a bunch of us are just out having a couple of beers.

If you can find that Kurt Busch and get him to show him - he's a hell of a sexy guy.

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