© Peter Casey/Imagn
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch took a shot at Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Saturday at Pocono Raceway. Busch called out Earnhardt Jr. over his decision to serve as the crew chief for the No. 88 JR Motorsports Xfinity Series car in place of the suspended Mardy Lindley.
”It’s all publicity, but spin it how you want it,” Busch said. “He’s just gonna be a warm body sitting on top of the box. They’ve got enough stuff from the shop and enough technology these days of being able to have the crew chief still involved.
“I could say I could do the same thing with one of my Truck teams, but the guys at the shop would be the ones handling it. But still great, cool, eyeballs and putting some attention on their team and stuff like that.”
After facing backlash, Busch took to X and attempted to walk back the comment.
This has nothing to do w any animosity towards Dale jr. I’m referencing how silly the suspensions for cc are these days w all the technology they have to stay in contact w their teams. I’d say the same thing if JG went on a HMS box as a cc. https://t.co/tEpT2xACXD
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) June 21, 2025
“This has nothing to do w(ith) any animosity towards Dale jr. I’m referencing how silly the suspensions for cc (crew chiefs) are these days w(ith) all the technology they have to stay in contact w(ith) their teams. I’d say the same thing if JG (Jeff Gordon) went on a HMS (Hendrick Motorsports) box as a cc (crew chief).”
To some degree, Busch’s clarification makes sense. Teams are so well run these days that other team members can do the job fairly easily after prepping during the week.
But here’s where his claim falls apart. Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time winner at Pocono, one of the series’ most strategy-involved tracks. He stepped onto the pit box for rookie driver Connor Zilisch and went on to make a strategy call that led Zilisch to victory, his first win on an oval track.
Not everybody would’ve made that call. Now, obviously, if it doesn’t work out the same way, the call doesn’t look as great. But it took both guts and instincts. Maybe Busch could have done the same for now now-defunct NASCAR Truck Series team. But he never did. So it’s a pretty bad look for him to be throwing stones at one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR history.