“Classic Kyle Busch, just yapping lol”: NASCAR nation reacts to Kyle Busch calling Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s crew chief duties a ‘publicity stunt’

Fans on social media slammed Kyle Busch after the Richard Childress Racing driver criticized Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Xfinity Series cameo as a crew chief a 'publicity stunt'. On social media, many fans called out Busch as he shared his thoughts ahead of the 2025 Pocono Xfinity Series race.

Busch appeared for an interview recently, where he was asked about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s cameo as Connor Zilisch's crew chief on Saturday (June 21). Sharing his thoughts, here's what the #8 driver said, as per Frontstretch on X:

"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, being able to have the crew chief still involved." "So I could say I can do the same thing you know, with one of my truck teams, but guys at the shop would be the ones handling it. Still great, cool eyeballs, and putting some attention on their team and stuff like that," Busch further added (4:43-5:13)

As the interview surfaced on social media, fans shared their reactions and some slammed the RCR driver. Here are some reactions taken from the micro-blogging site, X, formerly Twitter:

Reacting to it, a fan wrote, "Classic Kyle Busch. Just yapping lol." "Kyle is saying this for publicity because his driving sure hasn’t put him in the spotlight in years," another fan wrote. "Picked a fight for no reason. Pretty stupid," wrote a fan. Another fan wrote, "We got the snarky Kyle Busch today! We will remind him of this when he crew chief's Brexton someday." "'It's all publicity'. Just like you running Trucks against a bunch of 18-year-olds, and even then the only thing you can win is Atlanta," another fan wrote. "Well that’s……a weird shot to take," wrote a fan.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why he is taking up crew chief role at Pocono

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to take up the duty to become the crew chief of his driver, Connor Zilisch, after Mardy Lindley, the original crew chief, got suspended after the race in Nashville. Speaking about why he is taking up the role, here's what the former NASCAR driver said:

"There’s probably over 100 people at JR Motorsports that would have been more qualified, but Mardy asked me to do it. So I was like, ‘You must want me to do it.’ … We got a great team and a great organization that can handle these types of challenges. Should be no problem.” (via The Athletic)

In the post-race inspection, NASCAR found two unsecured lug nuts in Connor Zilisch's #88 Chevrolet Camaro. As a result, the sanctioning body suspended Lindley for one race, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now set to step into a new role.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl