New sponsor M&M's is pumping significant cash into marketing him, and Busch's representatives said his merchandise sales are up 233 percent over last season when Kellogg's was his primary backer. And, according to Busch's people, his merchandise sales would be even higher - but no one realized the demand there would be for his gear, and his souvenir trucks can't keep the stuff in stock.

Plus, Busch has the steadfast support of his new team and doesn't have to worry about angering anyone at Joe Gibbs Racing with his temperamental behavior.

"This is a lot of attention he hasn't had in years past," said team president J.D. Gibbs. "As he kind of learns and grows with that, I think we'll be in good shape. He knows we're behind him no matter what we have, we're going to support him."

That was evident last week after he wrecked Earnhardt with three laps to go at Richmond as the two raced for the win. Earnhardt was looking to end a 71-race winless streak, and his fan base was livid to see Busch rob him of his first victory since 2006.

Richmond officials provided security assistance to help Busch safely leave the track, but his JGR team always had his back. As unpopular as the incident made him, Busch joked he actually received 30 new fan club members after Richmond.

"That puts me at 330," he quipped.

But it also drew comparisons to the late Dale Earnhardt, who ruffled more than a few feathers on the track en route to his seven Cup championships. Fans either loved him or hated him, and no one received more noise in prerace introductions than The Intimidator.

Although Busch is shying away from the comparisons - "I'm out there concentrating on being Kyle Busch," he said - Gordon himself made the same link.

"Having a love-hate relationship out there with the fans is not a bad thing,'' Gordon said. "I heard more noise for him tonight than I've ever heard for him, and all I can remember when I came into this sport is riding around Dale Earnhardt and him getting a lot of boos and cheers. And all he cared about was how much noise they made.

"Right now, the boos might be louder than the cheers, but at least they're making a lot of noise."

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