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Kyle Busch Refuses To Apologize To Rival NASCAR Driver

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated May 17, 2025 2:33 PM ET

It's not an exaggeration to say last year's NASCAR All-Star Race was overshadowed by a violent altercation involving Kyle Busch.

During the second lap of the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. lost control of his vehicle after making contact with Busch. He made it clear that he wasn't pleased with the veteran driver's antics, yelling a few vulgar words at his crew.

Once the All-Star Race came to an end, Stenhouse confronted Busch by the NASCAR Cup Series garage. It didn't take long for things to get physical.

Stenhouse threw a vicious right hook at Busch that clearly shook him up. He later received a $75,000 fine for his role in this fight..

With the 2025 All-Star Race set for this Sunday, Stenhouse spoke to the media about his fight with Busch. The 37-year-old driver said he apologized for his nasty behavior.

"Oh yeah, we’ve talked," Stenhouse said. "I mean, I’ve apologized to him for like, 'Hey, sorry that kind of got out of hand.'"

Busch, however, wasn't willing to apologize. At least that's how Stenhouse made it sound.

"On the other hand, he’s like, 'Yeah, it’s kind of deserving, right?' So he knew what he did on purpose, and so I would say we both probably could have done things different, but yeah, just part of it," Stenhouse told reporters.

Even though Busch hasn't issued a public apology, he claims he has moved on from his differences with Stenhouse.

"I haven’t looked back on any of it, but him and I have just soft-spoken, just kind of how we were beforehand," Busch said. "If there’s occasions where we’re next to each other at driver intros, you know, it’s no big deal. Just is what it is. Move on and put that behind us."

At this point, there's no reason for Busch or Stenhouse to dwell on the past. They've accomplished way too much to let a post-race altercation define their careers.

That being said, NASCAR probably wouldn't mind if more rivalries like this form over the next couple of years.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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