One driver can fix NASCAR's doldrums

Like the great white shark or the bald eagle, Jimmie Johnson has no natural predators. His place atop the Sprint Cup food chain is secure. Regardless of what happens Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway, the three-time defending NASCAR champion will all but certainly continue his march toward a fourth consecutive title with a cool, ruthless efficiency that would make even Michael Schumacher blanch.

And yet, apex predators can have a difficult time stirring passions within the heart. Oh, no question, there are tons of people out there who really love Johnson -- more than we give him credit for, actually -- who admire his coolness and his professionalism and his ability to raise his game when it matters most. There are plenty of folks who realize that the unflappable, behind-the-sunglasses Jimmie Johnson is just a persona, and that the real guy is funny and charming and humble. And yet, as television ratings languish and race track attendance figures stagnate, it's become clear that Johnson cannot pull NASCAR out of the doldrums all by himself.

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The sport needs an agitator, somebody to shake things up, and Kyle Busch is an agitator extraordinaire.

Make no mistake about it, NASCAR is in the doldrums -- ratings for Chase races have been down slightly over last year, and speedway attendance is off roughly 20 percent across the board. Point fingers all you want at Johnson, the Chase, or the current Sprint Cup car, but a lot of this is purely related to the recession, and not limited to stock-car racing. Every weekend a handful of NFL markets face local television blackouts, which the league mandates if home games are not sold out. Many college football stadiums that historically draw very well are seeing more empty seats than usual. Although the economy may be showing signs of improvement, there are still a lot of fans out there who don't have the disposable income they once did.

Still, there is no question that NASCAR could use a jump start, something to attract new fans and galvanize old ones, to add a bit of unpredictability and once again make the sport must-see TV. This time of year, with football in full swing and baseball in the final stages of its postseason, it's painful to see how lost NASCAR sometimes can get, even in the midst of its championship run. There's one guy out there with the potential to change all that, who can make the sport more relevant in a crowded landscape, and who can get even non-NASCAR fans talking about NASCAR again.

And it's not Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It's Kyle Busch. (Continued)