RICHMOND -- Kyle Busch does not seek to be cute and cuddly like Kasey Kahne. Nor does Busch vie to be as politically correct as Jimmie Johnson or as aw-shucks as Carl Edwards.

Busch doesn't care about that stuff. He just races.

That he does it with such cocksureness only angers NASCAR fans more. In a career where he's wrecked with his brother and been released from the sport's top team, Busch reached a new level Saturday night.

A late-race incident with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead makes Busch the sport's top villain without rival. Angered Earnhardt fans started an Internet crusade to "Rise up against Kyle Busch'' along with other suggestions, some of which were later deleted.

The Busch-Earnhardt melodrama at Richmond International Raceway overshadowed Clint Bowyer's shocking win and Denny Hamlin's stunning flat tire. Adding to the emotion was that Busch's runner-up finish moved him into the points lead; Earnhardt placed 15th with his bruised car.

While many will debate if Busch wrecked Earnhardt on purpose (Busch denied that), it's easy to forget few can drive a car the way Busch does. He's won truck, Nationwide, Cup and even a Late Model race since February on a variety of tracks from short tracks to a road course to an intermediate speedway and a restrictor-plate race.

Despite that talent, he's also been involved in incidents that upset some of his competitors.

"If I want to talk to Kyle, I've got to get in line,'' Earnhardt said.

Busch wasn't worried about his reputation when he dived below Earnhardt in turn 3 as they raced for the lead three laps from the scheduled end.

"I had to do what I had to do to win for my team,'' Busch said.

Mind you, Earnhardt hasn't won in two years; Busch hadn't won in two days (a Late Model event). Both were headstrong.

"I was trying to run hard and trying to hold him off,'' Earnhardt said.

They hit. Earnhardt's car slid up the track and backed into the wall. Bowyer slipped past Busch to take the lead for good.

"That was just a product of good hard racing,'' Busch said. "I apologize that it happened, and I hated that it did.

"We just didn't give each other enough room getting into turn 3. I didn't feel like I slipped, but we just kind of banged simultaneously and that's where I got loose and got corrected and he was gone.''

Said Earnhardt: "He got into the side of us, and we ended up coming home outside the top 10. We had a top-3 car. As mad as I am about that situation and as much as is going to be made out of it over the next week, the real injustice is that this team didn't get what it deserved.''

It's easy to feel empathy for Earnhardt, whose wavering voice in a post-race TV interview underlined his disappointment.

It's easy to mock Busch, who complained about an Earnhardt crew member's actions toward him after the race.

That this came a night after Busch's brief confrontation with Steve Wallace after the Nationwide race doesn't help Busch. He warned Wallace about his racing and Wallace grabbed Busch's helmet.

Asked later if he would talk to Wallace again, Busch said: "That's Rusty Wallace's kid, so I'm not sure you're going to be able to talk to him much and get through his head.''

Busch was as outspoken Saturday about Earnhardt fans after becoming the sport's most hated driver.

"Well for some reason they are awfully confused because they were giving me the No. 1 sign the last 10 laps of the race and I was in second place still,'' Busch said. "So I don't know whether that's too many Dale Jr. Budweisers or they are AMPed up or what.

"For me, there's nothing you can say, absolutely nothing. If I apologize up and down, even though it may or may not be my fault, it would not make a difference.

"Dale got wrecked. He should have had a win. It's just unfortunate circumstances for him because he didn't get a win and for me because now I've got to put up with it.''