Former boss addresses ‘who was harder to deal’ between Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart

Joe Gibbs reflected on his time working with Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart and admitted to facing the occasional 'challenges.' Nonetheless, the Hall of Fame team owner credited them with racking up wins and playing a key role in building up Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart both claimed two Cup Series titles with JGR. Stewart scored 33 wins with the team, while Busch notched up 56, the second most in team history. However, there have been times where their personalities outshone their records, as the two drivers often drew attention to their unfiltered moments both on and off track.

Reflecting upon the same, Kevin Harvick asked the team owner who was harder to deal with in an exclusive episode of the Happy Hour podcast.

Kyle Bush and Tony, they were both very super talented, and both of them a little bit alike. But really, both of them, I really appreciated their talent and the way they went after it for us," Joe Gibbs said. [22:23 onwards]

Obviously that was great for us, and you know, every now and then there were some challenges. But really they helped build our race team; they really did, and I appreciated both of them so much because, you know, they won a ton," he added.

Ever since leaving JGR in 2022, Kyle Busch has faced a downward trend in his stint with Richard Childress Racing. Although he scored multiple wins in his debut year, the RCR driver is currently enduring his longest winless stretch, dating back to June 4, 2023.

Busch came close to a win this year at COTA after leading 42 laps before settling for a fifth-place finish.

Up next, he heads to the Chicago Street Race, a lowly 20th in the driver's standings. He has a points tally of 356 and an average finish of 18.

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Kyle Busch reflects on his infamous brawl with RCR team owner

Before joining RCR and taking three wins in 2023, the two-time Cup champion was involved in an infamous brawl with Richard Childress back in 2011. After a Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, the veteran team owner allegedly held him in a headlock and threw several punches.

The scuffle earned Childress a $150,000 fine and a year-long probation, while Busch was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Speaking on their infamous spat, Busch said (via Associated Press),

"We put that totally behind us. We talked about it. That was one of the first things we talked about. That's history. We've both grown a lot. I know I've grown up. I've grown older, but I've grown up, too. There's an old song out there, 'I'm still growing up but I’m getting older,'"

The conflict stemmed from Kyle Busch's aggressive racing with the then RCR rookie, Joey Coulter.