Editor’s note: As The Athletic celebrates Food & Drink week, we’re taking a look back at the creation of Kyle Busch’s Rowdy Energy. This story was originally reported and published on Feb. 12, 2020.



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch made his way around a conference room table covered with a variety of energy drinks and took sips from each can. He tasted the familiar flavors of Monster and NOS — both of which he formerly endorsed — and sampled everything from Red Bull to Hiball to Bang to Reign and GURU.



It left him absolutely disgusted.



“Some of them, dude, it was like Satan’s piss!” Busch said, voice rising to a near-yell as he recounted the experience. “It was like, ‘What is this shit? How did people develop this and think they could put this on a shelf for people to buy? Are you kidding me?’”



In the midst of research for his own energy drink, Busch made a vow on the...