Kyle Busch may know better than anyone that many Las Vegas Motor Speedway fans aren’t locals. If they were, they might cheer for Busch, Las Vegas native, instead of loudly booing.
Kyle Busch Jeered By ‘Hometown’ Fans In Las Vegas
Instead, Busch received a noisy, negative reception when he was introduced to the crowd by an Elvis impersonator during Las Vegas driver introductions – just one week after Busch heard many cheers from a friendly crowd at Phoenix.
Busch’s noise level ranked third on this week’s Gluckometer ratings, which are taken at pre-race intros using a handheld decibel meter.
Jeff Gordon got the most noise, riding the momentum of his Phoenix win, and he barely beat out Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sixth on the list, but don’t fret, Junior Nation – it’s typical that the crowd takes a bit to get warmed up, and Earnhardt Jr. had a low starting spot.
The crowd gets louder as driver intros go on, which almost always puts the pole-sitter in the top 10 – even if they usually aren’t. That was the case for Matt Kenseth this week, who showed up at No. 8 despite usually getting a quiet reaction.
Here is the full list:
| Driver | dB | Type of Noise | Comment/Explanation | |||
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 85.8 | Cheers | Crowd salutes Phoenix win | ||
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 85.7 | Mix | Five-time nearly grabs top spot | ||
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 85.1 | Boos | No love for hometown driver | ||
| 4 | Mark Martin | 84.8 | Cheers | Fans high on veteran drivers | ||
| 5 | Tony Stewart | 84.6 | Cheers | Cheered wherever he goes now | ||
| 6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 84.4 | Cheers | Too early in intros; crowd not warmed up | ||
| 7 | Carl Edwards | 83.9 | Cheers | Either cheered or cheer/boo mix every week | ||
| 8 | Matt Kenseth | 82.4 | Cheers | Pole-sitter | ||
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | 82.2 | Cheers | Popular driver | ||
| 10 | Trevor Bayne | 81.0 | Cheers | Still riding Daytona 500 wave |
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