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CONCORD — Kyle Busch can save NASCAR's eroding fan base, some say, but only if he chooses.

Confident, calculating and cocky, Busch hesitates to embrace the role as the sport's villain — as Dale Earnhardt did — even if many fans already view Busch as the bad guy.

"The sport ... needs a person it can boo," says former driver Jimmy Spencer, now an analyst for Speed Channel.

Fox's double-digit ratings decline for Cup races this season signals a fading interest in the sport. One theory for the drop off is that the sport's story lines are not engaging, that personalities are not coming out as much this season.

Busch could change that. He stirred emotions last year after on-track confrontations with Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Carl Edwards. Busch's celebrations can antagonize fans as he counts off the number of victories he's scored and then bows.

"He's seems to be definitely sidestepping the issue," says former track operator Humpy Wheeler of Busch's reluctance to accept the villain role. "At times, he almost becomes that and then he becomes Mr. Personality. The bad guy is usually consistently bad. He's not just bad once in a while."

Asked about being the bad guy, Busch offers a toe-the-line response that as long as fans make noise when his name is mentioned that's all that matters. That's a comment passed through the years among drivers with many crediting Earnhardt for first saying it. Of course, Earnhardt also made more pointed comments, endearing him to some and angering others.

Earnhardt didn't care. He relished the image, which was magnified by his black car, mirror sunglasses and a physical driving style that was known to crumple cars even after the checkered flag flew. Just as important was that Earnhardt's sponsors didn't mind their driver being portrayed in such a way.

Busch has said in the past he doesn't seem himself as a villain in the sport. It's not an easy role, many admit. Rusty Wallace found himself in that position after he spun Darrell Waltrip late in the 1989 all-star race and went on to win it.

"That was a position that I did not like," Wallace says. "I kind of like the position of being looked at as kind of one of the tough competitors. But I did not like it when I looked up and all those people that I wanted to look at me ... said "You (stink).'

"I don't think any driver likes the boos. There will be some drivers who say that as long as they're making noise, something's happening. I don't agree totally with that one. I think if they're booing you like (heck), they just don't like you."

That fans are making any kind of noise about Busch is pivotal for the sport, Spencer says, adding "Thank God for Kyle Busch.

"He single-handedly has helped the sport more than any driver in the last eight to 10 years."

Spencer cites Busch's ability and attitude with creating a buzz with the sport. Last weekend's all-star race was such an example. He went from fourth to first at the start of the final 10-lap segment before an accident created a restart. Later, he was three-wide with Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman. They bounced off each other with Gordon wrecking.

Until those moments, nothing memorable had happened in the first 90 laps of the all-star event, putting it in jeopardy of being overshadowed by Jeremy Mayfield's impromptu press conference in the infield that night about his failed drug test.

With Busch, whether you like him or not, fans often know where he is on the track because he's making something happen. That's how Earnhardt was. You didn't want to take your eyes off him because you might miss something.

Since Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR has not had a true villain.

Tony Stewart took that role for a while with his outspokenness, but he tired of the hassles it created. He still speaks his mind but often it's when it can benefit those in the garage — from his searing comments about Goodyear's tires at some tracks to complaining about bump drafting at Daytona three years ago.

After Stewart, fans booed Kurt Busch. His quick climb to Cup from Trucks and a few early missteps didn't mesh with fans. Once Kyle emerged, fans turned toward the younger Busch.

But for many there's still something missing. It's just not the same without Earnhardt and what he did. Take that Bristol night race in 1999 that Earnhardt won when he bumped Terry Labonte out of the lead on the last lap. Spencer finished second. Yet when he met Earnhardt afterward, Earnhardt didn't offer congratulations.

"You know what Earnhardt had the gall to say to me?" Spencer says. "What the hell did you hit me for?' He just spins Terry out to win the race and he goes why did you hit me."

A villain even after the race. Imagine what it could be like if Busch or someone else took that role.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com