Kyle Busch just lately provided NASCAR followers a captivating look into the game’s evolution by means of a candid story about his previous with Tony Stewart. Throughout an look on Kevin Harvick’s “Completely happy Hour” podcast, Busch shared recommendation as soon as given to him by the three-time Cup Sequence champion — knowledge that now appears out of step with how NASCAR works right this moment.
The story got here throughout a bigger dialog concerning the aggressive driving model that’s change into frequent within the sport. The dialogue didn’t simply mirror on a private second between two of NASCAR’s largest names. It additionally confirmed how a lot racing tradition and expectations have modified over the previous decade.
As Busch sees it, the teachings that helped form his era of drivers could not maintain up in right this moment’s extra aggressive setting, the place dangerous strikes are sometimes the norm.
Las Vegas Showdown Sparked Tony Stewart’s Mentorship Second for Kyle Busch
The important thing second occurred throughout a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the place a younger Busch made a number of strikes that upset Stewart.
“I believe it was Vegas. I made him mad at Vegas,” Busch stated on Harvick’s present. “It was within the final 25 laps of the race, however I lower him off a few occasions, and he tried to get again at me, and he missed, and he ended up fencing himself off Flip 2. And I believe I completed third. I believe he ended up like fifteenth or twentieth as a result of he killed his automobile.”
“There isn’t any fixing what we have got going proper now … They might a lot reasonably crash than win a race.”
Kyle Busch talks with @KevinHarvick about recommendation from Tony Stewart that will not apply to right this moment’s younger drivers. pic.twitter.com/MeeUceAIM6
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) March 21, 2025
However the fallout went past simply that race. Busch stated Stewart stayed upset for months earlier than ultimately calling him over to his bus for a 1-on-1 speak.
That assembly become an enduring lesson, as Stewart gave recommendation on racing smarter and being extra calculated — traits that outlined drivers like Mark Martin, Harvick, and Stewart himself.
Nonetheless, Busch says that recommendation doesn’t work in right this moment’s NASCAR.
“So folks ask me on a regular basis, they’re like, ‘Properly, why don’t you are taking these children beneath your wings and like educate them and inform them?’ I’m like, ‘We’re in a totally completely different period now,’” Busch stated. “Like there isn’t any fixing what we’ve bought going proper now with all people working over all people, I don’t get it.”
Busch’s level exhibits how a lot the game’s mindset has modified. Right this moment, many drivers appear extra keen to trigger wrecks than accept protected finishes. That’s a significant shift from the extra managed model that Stewart as soon as preached.
As the game retains evolving, Busch’s story exhibits how even one of the best recommendation from racing legends would possibly want a re-examination. NASCAR has modified, and so has the way in which drivers race.
