Kyle Busch recently pointed his finger at the big issue of drivers having no respect for each other. The Richard Childress Racing driver further opened up on the loss of mutual respect between drivers on the track, as he was of the opinion “nobody gives two s**ts” about each other.

Busch further described how everyone takes advantage of everyone “as much as they can” these days. And even though they’re all “selfish,” there used to be a code of conduct for drivers.

“There was an etiquette that once did live here,” he said.

This led to a reporter wondering when this mutual respect began to fade among the drivers, to which Busch replied, “As those guys started to retire and diminish and leave the series, that’s when the new guys come in, they never got…taught that philosophy or sat down and explain that philosophy.”

He also revealed he too learned this from a senior driver.

Conversations with Tony Stewart gave Kyle Busch “a good sense” of racing with respect

Busch recalled the conversations he had with Tony Stewart from when he was starting out, which established a sense of respect while racing against other drivers.

“I remember a conversation myself and Tony Stewart had. Actually, two of them. So that was the time when I kind of learned and got a good sense of it,” he said.

Having said that, he added that if he’s expected to follow the same route with him being the senior figure, then he’s not up for it. “Blame it on me, sure. But I’m not taking the initiative to fix it and talk to all these younger drivers,” he said.

Busch on the big impact speaking to Tony Stewart made on him

As he revealed the role Stewart played in his foundational years in NASCAR, Busch was asked how exactly Smoke got into his head and made an impression on him that impacted him.

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“I think the biggest thing was the impact it had for me was him taking the time and doing that, but also giving him the respect and understanding that he’s been around for a long time and raced against a lot of those really great drivers and was a two-time champion at that time,” Busch said.

“So I gave him that respect and we rarely had issues since then. I think that says it.”

With that said, do you think a senior driver needs to step up and give the younger drivers a pep talk? It cannot be Denny Hamlin considering he himself was a culprit, it can’t be Kyle Busch since he ruled himself out, or Kevin Harvick considering he’s retiring.

So who could it be?

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