Kyle Busch Clarifies Calling Dale Earnhardt Jr. A “Warm Body” Ahead Of Crew Chief Debut At Pocono… Which He Won

You LOVE to see it.

Of course, NASCAR fans know that Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were rivals back in the day when they were both still full-time Cup Series drivers, and their animosity really stemmed from the infamous 2008 race at Richmond. They were battling for the lead during the last laps, and Busch spun Dale Jr. out during his first year at Hendrick Motorsports.

He was literally on track to end a two-year winless streak, so obviously, he was really upset about it, and later that year during the fall race at Richmond, Jr. returned the favor and spun Busch out.

Busch has made comments about him over the years, and in terms of fan perception back then, they definitely contrasted each other and remained rivals for many years. Eventually, after Jr. retired, they seemed to reconcile and even become friendly, and Jr. had Busch on his podcast a while back and they hashed it out.

Ahead of Jr. making his debut as crew chief this weekend for his Jr. Motorsports driver Connor Zilisch during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, Kyle seemingly wasn’t too impressed. Before the race, he was asked:

“Kyle, there’s a lot of buzz about Dale Jr. being on top of the box for today’s Xfinity race. as somebody who was also a car owner and as a driver, how difficult does that transition to make?”

Kyle, who used to own a Truck Series team, had a sassy response, saying it was “all publicity,” adding that Jr. was just “a warm body sitting on top of the box.” He also implied that it didn’t matter as much because crew chiefs don’t need to be at the track anymore thanks to advances in NASCAR technology:

“It’s all publicity, but spin it how you want it. He’s just gonna be a warm body sitting on top of the box, you know, they’ve got enough stuff from the shop. And enough technology these days of being able to have the crew still involved.

So you know, I could say I could do the same thing you know with one of my truck teams, but the guys at the shop would be the ones handling it. But still, great. You know cool, eyeballs, and you know, putting some attention on their team and stuff like that.”

@alectheflexerofficial “It’s all publicity. He’s just going to be a warm body sitting on top of the box.” Kyle Busch shares his thoughts on Dale Jr taking on the role of crew chief #nascar #kylebusch #dalejr ♬ original sound – Alectheflexer

There were a few fans who agreed with him in the comments, but mostly, everyone was pointing out how much Busch still seems so jealous over Jr.. I’m very far from a Kyle Busch fan, and a huge Dale Jr. fan, so I should admit I’m a bit biased, but I agree with some of these comments:

“So he’s saying that his Crew Chief doesn’t do anything lol”

“He might know what he’s talking about…. I mean he’s just a warm body going around in circles…following everyone else.”

“Kyle Busch is such a whiny a** b***. Grow up.”

“He’s always been so jealous of Dale Jr.”

“F*** Kyle Busch! He doesn’t come close to Jr.”

“He’s always been soooooo jealous of Dale Jr . Obsession.”

“Poor Karen, I mean Kyle.”

“Is he saying his crew chief does nothing during the race?”

“Hmmm think they won that race. Let’s Ask Kyle last time he won a Cup race!”

“Jealous much??? You don’t even come close to Dale Jr.!!! Such a cry baby.

“He would know about publicity, that’s why he’s always running his mouth. Might as well be saying look at me, look at me, all the time.”

“Lately Kyle is just warm body behind the wheel.”

“Sounds like a 10 year old jealous child.”

“Wah wah wah, it isn’t about Kyle, but he try’s to bounce it off his ownership experience and still had nothing good to say. Still don’t like him.”

“Where is the follow up interview after the win?”

“Damn, Kyle never got that chip off his shoulder when it comes to Jr… actually he can’t do the same being how he doesn’t own a truck team anymore.”

“Kyle is just sour because he hasn’t been successful with RCR. No reason to speak down on Dale Jr. because your career is coming to an end brother…”

Busch responded to the interview on X, which obviously got a lot of attention from race fans, saying it had “nothing to do with any animosity towards Dale Jr.,” and it was more about the fact that Connor Zilisch’s crew chief Mardy Lindley had been suspended for one race, which is why Jr. had to fill in in the first place, and that suspending crew chiefs is a pointless endeavor that doesn’t really affect the race.

“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.”

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

Have to say, I agree with the comment about needing another interview with Kyle after Jr. won on Saturday… nothing like a good win, especially in his debut, to keep the haters mad.

Hope Kyle ate some crow for dinner last night, after extending his very long losing streak since joining Richard Childress Racing and coming up short at Pocono. He last won on  February 26th, 2023 at the Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway, which was also his first win with RCR. He has gone winless since, and Dale Jr. certainly can’t say the same, which is the BEST kind of revenge.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sports on Prime (@sportsonprime)

The post Kyle Busch Clarifies Calling Dale Earnhardt Jr. A “Warm Body” Ahead Of Crew Chief Debut At Pocono… Which He Won first appeared on Whiskey Riff.