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Watch: Joe Gibbs Spill the Beans 'Who Was Harder to Deal With' Between Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Armaan Agarwal | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 10:05 AM ET

Over the years, NASCAR has had no shortage of iconic drivers. Names such as Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are always remembered by fans for their incredible careers in the stock car racing series. While the two were feisty drivers on-track, this kind of created a situation for Joe Gibbs Racing when they raced as teammates. Now, NASCAR legend and JGR owner, Joe Gibbs has revealed which driver was easier to deal with.

Tony Stewart was a pivotal part of JGR for almost a decade. The three-time Cup Series champion joined the team in 1999 and stayed till the end of 2008. On the other hand, Kyle Busch arrived at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008. While the two drivers only served as teammates for one season, it was enough for the team owner to understand their dynamics.

Joe Gibbs was full of praise for both his former drivers. The 84-year-old asserted that the two had quite similar personalities and interests. According to the NASCAR legend, both Busch and Stewart were keen on making large purchases, including racetracks. While it was Tony Stewart who was more into such acquisitions, Kyle Busch was not far behind either.

They were both very super talented. And both of them a little bit alike, and they were [into] all kinds of stuff. They were kind of into all kinds of stuff, houses, buying racetracks, Tony, all the different things he was in, Kyle a little bit that way too.
Joe Gibbs said on Happy Hour podcast.

One thing that seemed to be in Stewart’s favor was his socializing skills. Joe Gibbs revealed that the two-time Cup Series champion was quite funny at times. This presented the perfect opportunity to have a good laugh in a social outing whenever he was around. While Gibbs did not explicitly name the harder to deal with driver, it seems that Kyle Busch was the one easier to be with.

But really both of them, I really appreciated their talent, the way they went after it for us, both of them. Like if you get Kyle, he’s got a great sense of humor. You get him in a social setting and stuff, you’ll laugh a lot. But both of them really talented.
Joe Gibbs added.

Who was harder to deal with: @KyleBusch or @TonyStewart? Coach Joe Gibbs talks with @KevinHarvick about two @JoeGibbsRacing champions. pic.twitter.com/XwRHRJv9EV
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) July 4, 2025

Joe Gibbs reveals reason for praising Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch

Throughout the conversation, Joe Gibbs put emphasis on the talent of both the star drivers. The 84-year-old made it known that Stewart and Busch were incredible drivers, who were ahead of the rest of the field.

Gibbs recalled that having the two in his team allowed him to lay down a strong foundation for JGR, which has continued to pay dividends to this day. Moreover, he pointed out that Kyle Busch had stunned the NASCAR field, when he managed to win seven races for his first year for the Mars car, a company that had won only two races in eight years.

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 they won a ton… Mars is an example, when they got into the sport. They’d been in like 8 years or something and won two races. And the first year we put Kyle in that thing, I remember that we got him signed up, he won seven races the first year. Things like that… you just can’t. Can’t imagine how important that was for us.
Joe Gibbs stated.

Certainly, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch are two of the best drivers NASCAR has ever seen. Busch, who had to give up racing after a life-changing crash at Pocono in 2022, was recently added to the sport’s Hall of Fame as part of Class of 2026. It is clear that fans and the sport will continue to honor their legacy in the years to come.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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