Nearly a month after Kyle Busch’s death, NASCAR icon Tony Stewart launched a blunt, widely criticized rant—blaming people for “judging” Kyle’s character only after he died. Stewart argued fans and others should have taken the time to understand him while he wa
Nearly a month after Kyle Busch’s tragic death shook the NASCAR world, the takes kept coming—tributes, warnings, flashbacks, and every highlight from a career packed with wins. There were also direct reminders from his wife, Samantha, and his son, Brexton.
Then Tony Stewart stepped in.
Stewart, the NASCAR legend and former teammate of Busch, brought his anger into public view ahead of this weekend’s NHRA race. He did so in a way that immediately cut against the grain of the moment: he criticized how people have handled Busch’s death—and he did it with profanity-laced frustration.
“I guess the biggest thing in this tragedy that’s happened that pisses me off the most is that now everybody wants to talk about how he was as a person,” Stewart said. “Outside of that, all they wanted to do is judge what they saw on TV. It’s frustrating.”
He then pointed at what he sees as a double standard—people forming conclusions only after a person is gone. “That’s the way every one of us are judged by what they see on TV and then once you die. they want to talk about how good a person you were. ” Stewart said. “That’s the part that pisses me off the most about it right now. Should’ve given him a chance to learn him as a person before they judged him in the first place.”.
Stewart’s rant sharpened when he addressed the idea that people should care about who Busch was while he was still alive—not only after his death. “So, right now, I don’t care about educating everybody about how Kyle Busch was. I know how Kyle Busch was,” Stewart said. “The fact that they all want to learn now. they’re the a–holes for not taking the time to learn him and accept him for who he was back then.”.
He repeated the point as he described what he believed people did wrong. “You want to wait until a guy dies and then care about who he was as a person is the part that pisses me off about everybody.”
For many fans and observers, the criticism landed poorly because Busch’s death—May 21—had already turned public memory into a steady stream of remembrance. The disagreement wasn’t over grief. It was over Stewart’s choice of targets and timing.
Some people couldn’t follow what Stewart was angry at, or why. One writer described the outburst as a “tone-deaf” rant, saying Stewart never clearly clarified who he meant or who he was angry at—while suggesting the implied direction felt aimed at “the fans and the … media.”
That same view pushed back on the basic premise. If viewers only see an athlete on TV “every Sunday for a few hours. ” the argument goes. then they only have a limited window to judge what they’re able to observe. There’s no access to the rest of a person’s life—no rides in the hauler. no time on pit-road. no dinner with the Busch family. In that framework. judging from what you see isn’t just unavoidable; it’s “literally the only way we can judge them.”.
The pushback also came with a reminder of how public feelings about Busch changed over time.
Busch had become a fan favorite in the past few years. which ran counter to how he was regarded earlier in his career. The story recalled that Busch was “infamously” involved in a wreck of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008 at Richmond. After that. the account said Busch was widely disliked for the next decade—so much so that. according to the same description. he had to be “basically” escorted out of the track by the Secret Service.
But then, in 2023, something shifted. Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023, and, in the telling, “something clicked” with fans. The past four years—framed as the period leading up to his death—were described as a surge in affection for him. Coverage of the Daytona 500 reinforced that change: fans were described as “deafening” during driver intros after Busch joined RCR. and the account emphasized that Busch started on the pole for what became his final Daytona 500 this past February. The writer said they were there and “heard it.”.
No single explanation was offered for that transformation. The possibilities floated were that Busch stopped winning as much, that fans began to see him as the last true “old-school” driver, or that after becoming the winningest NASCAR driver ever, Busch earned respect.
In the end, the dispute with Stewart wasn’t about whether Busch deserved remembrance. It was about whether the way people formed opinions during his life was fair—and whether it makes sense to blame fans for caring more clearly once he was gone.
For the people defending the public reaction, the core point was simple: they didn’t believe Busch was “unfairly judged while he was alive.” They argued that fans knew the person Busch was—and loved him for it.
Kyle Busch Tony Stewart NASCAR NHRA mourning fans Richard Childress Racing Daytona 500 Samantha Busch Brexton Busch
Damn Tony needs to chill.
I saw the headline and I’m like… he’s mad at mourners? That’s kinda wild. Like let people grieve, even if they didn’t know Kyle personally.
Wait so Tony Stewart is blaming the public for “judging” Kyle after he died… but wasn’t Kyle also judging people his whole career? Not saying it’s the same thing, just feels like everyone forgets the past. Also NHRA race?? That’s kinda disrespectful timing no matter what he said.
Idk man, I think Tony’s right about the whole “judging on TV” thing but the way he went off with profanity just made it worse. People are gonna talk, they always do, like that’s literally what internet is. I kinda feel like he’s trying to control the narrative now that Kyle’s gone, even if he means well. And “should’ve given him a chance”?? They did, he was on TV for years… unless everybody watched a different version than me.