Kyle Busch loved making brash moves that few others would dare, both on the track and with his words. So, it was no surprise that he was often at the center of heated moments. He experienced a similar season when he and Tony Stewart became teammates. Though Stewart may never have shown it publicly, Busch meant a great deal to him, and upon learning of Busch’s untimely death, the former NASCAR driver was visibly shaken.

“This one is hard for me, and I’ve struggled to put into words all that’s going through my head,” Stewart wrote on his social media, as he shared a heartwarming tribute for Kyle Busch.

Prior to Busch joining the forces at Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart was more of a competitor. However, that changed in 2008.

“Early on, we didn’t always see eye to eye, but in 2008, he became my teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing… and he was a great teammate. He pushed me to be better, and we always had respect for one another. It was easy to see that Kyle was going to be a future champion.”

A strong moment of confrontation came the following year, when Tony Stewart had moved to Haas as a team owner (renamed to Stewart-Haas Racing by then). Both he and Kyle Busch had been battling for the lead at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Upon taking the white flag, Busch was still in the lead with Stewart following him up close, but in an attempt to block the SHR car, Busch ended up turning into him right before the checkered flag, ending his race.

Stewart did take the victory, but didn’t seem too happy about it:

“I went where I had to go, and he went where he had to go. You hate seeing a guy that’s been at the front all day, and especially the guy that held me the whole race get wrecked like that.”

That was the competitive aspect of their relationship, but the two shared plenty of banter as well. Several years ago, ‘Smoke’ organized a small event with the help of Armor All. At the time, he was in New York City for NASCAR’s awards week, which was modeled after events like the Grammys and the Country Music Awards. Stewart then came up with the ‘Stewie Awards’ as his own fun version of the ceremony, and, surprisingly, Busch was among the recipients.

Safe to say, Busch’s quip had Stewart laughing his head off.

“My cars’ll stay clean, but I’ll stay as dirty as ever,” he said.

This was a reference to Busch winning the ‘ArmorAll Grittiest Move Award,’ also known as the ‘I Got Dumped Award.’

These moments have now turned into memories, leaving the entire NASCAR community emotional following the unfortunate passing of the 41-year-old on May 21.

The two-time Cup Series champion was reportedly found unresponsive in a driving simulator a day before being hospitalized in Charlotte for a “severe illness,” according to The Associated Press. He was also reported to have been coughing up blood, experiencing shortness of breath, and running a high fever.

Moving on, whatever may have transpired between Stewart and Busch, Busch always showcased the mutual respect they shared. And this wasn’t just the case with Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch, known as “Rowdy,” had many rivalries throughout his career, but despite that, even his fiercest rivals respected him.

Kyle Busch’s fierce competitor showed his respect for ‘Rowdy’

Who doesn’t remember the Las Vegas incident in 2017? Joey Logano and Kyle Busch went wheel-to-wheel in the race’s closing laps, but a mistake from the No. 22 driver sent Busch off the track. Logano finished fourth, while Busch fell outside the top 20. Shortly after the race, punches were thrown on pit road as crew members attempted to separate the two drivers. Even with a bleeding forehead, Busch appeared furious.

They shared many aggressive battles on the track, including the 2022 race at Gateway. However, after the hard-fought battle, they went on to appreciate each other.

“I can’t say we like each other, but we seem to have respect for each other’s abilities and the way we race,” Logano said.

Despite the fierce battles, however, when Logano learned about Busch’s passing, he was, in his words, heartbroken.

“Heartbroke,” he said. “Kyle and I have been tough competitors, right? We didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but there was a mutual respect for each other’s talents and what he’s been able to do in our sport. The bottom line is he is one of the best drivers to ever sit in a race car, and he impacted our sport in so many ways.”

Despite all the battles Kyle Busch had with other drivers, he was, at the end of the day, one of the strongest drivers to compete against. At one point, he had also managed to win a race on each of the Cup Series tracks, setting a remarkable record.

It was this mutual respect he shared with his competitors that his passing felt so personal to everyone, whether it was Logano or Stewart.

In Busch’s respect, Richard Childress Racing also announced that they would retire and preserve the #8 until his son, Brexton, moved up the ranks to race in the Cup Series in the future. While this could be a few years, it goes to show the reputation Busch made in the past two decades in NASCAR.