He didn’t mince his words, that’s for sure.
On May 21st, 2026, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch sadly passed away at the age of 41 due to pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. It was very sudden, and in the short time since his death, tons of tributes from fans and drivers have poured in.
He left behind his wife, Samantha, and two children, Brexton (11) and Lennix (4), as well as his parents and fellow race car driver in his brother, Kurt Busch. It’s just so incredibly sad, and my thoughts and prayers continue to go out to his family who have experienced such a devastating tragedy. Of course, tons of fans and drivers have offered their support and condolences, but three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Tony Stewart, had a strong reaction to the outpouring from everyone.
He was actually not all that happy about it, saying that he’s been “pissed off” because people are remembering Kyle so positively, when in reality, while he was alive, he was a very polarizing driver (to say the least) and he was the villain of the sport for many years. Of course, a lot of people didn’t like him because he won so much, and he definitely had a certain attitude that rubbed people the wrong way, but every sport needs a personality like that… it’s part of what makes it so fun to watch.
Maybe he didn’t necessarily want to be viewed that way, but he learned to embrace it, and again, all those years of fireworks, so to speak, made the races even more fun to watch. But still, Stewart, who was a fierce rival of Kyle’s while they were both racing, says he is “frustrated” that people didn’t take the time to learn about the kind of person Kyle was while he was still alive.
He noted that once you die, everyone wants to “talk about how good a person you were,” but he believes they should’ve learned him as a person before judging him while he was still here:
“I guess that’s probably the biggest thing in this tragedy that’s happened that’s pissed me off the most is that now everybody wants to talk about how he was as a person. Outside of that, all they wanted to do was just judge what they saw on TV. It’s frustrating.
I mean, every one of us are judged by what they see on TV, and then once you die then they want to talk about how good a person you were. That’s the part that pisses me off the most about it right now. They should’ve given him a chance to learn him as a person before they judged him in the first place.”
I totally understand his frustration, but in fairness, that’s just kind of human nature whether you’re a famous athlete or a regular person when it comes to death, and I think there were plenty of people who knew Kyle was a great husband and father, who did a lot for his community and helped others… they just didn’t like him on the track.
But Stewart says he has no interest in educating people about how Kyle was now, and he says they’re “a**holes” for not taking the time to learn more about him while he was alive:
“So right now, I don’t care about educating everybody about how Kyle Busch was. I know who Kyle Busch was. So 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.
You want to wait till the guy dies, and now all of a sudden you care about who he was as a person? That’s the part that pisses me off with everybody.”
Like I said, he didn’t mince his words…
Of course, it’s all still very fresh and emotional, and everyone has a right to their own feelings and opinions on such a tragic incident, especially the people who actually knew him, and I can completely understand where he’s coming from on some of those points.
“I guess that’s probably the biggest thing in this tragedy that’s happened that’s pissed me off the most is that *now* everybody wants to talk about how he was as a person. Outside of that, all they wanted to do was just judge what they saw on TV.
“It’s frustrating. I mean,… https://t.co/uYiGN2eA9f
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) June 12, 2026
Kyle and Samantha did a ton of philanthropy work through their Bundle of Joy fund, which helped couples with fertility struggles be able to afford treatment and get pregnant, which is truly an incredibly organization they started after having their own fertility struggles. They realized how expensive is was to go through all of that, and so they wanted to help other couples of lesser means be able to make their own dreams of having a family come true.
Samantha recently shared a post thanking fans for all of their support:
She also shared a lengthy post about a promise she made to Kyle in the hospital, telling him she would do everything she could to support their children and help them make their dreams come true:
