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Tony Stewart paid tribute to the late Kyle Busch following his tragic death on Thursday.

Tony Stewart was one of many within the NASCAR community who paid tribute to Kyle Busch following his tragic passing on Thursday. Stewart was a former teammate of Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing and one of his fiercest competitors throughout his racing career. 

Busch tragically died on Thursday after being hospitalized due to a “severe illness” at the age of 41. The news has shaken NASCAR to the core, with many sharing their heartfelt tributes and stories of the racing legend.

Stewart speaks on Busch’s passing: ‘This one is hard for me’

In a touching social media post, Stewart admits it took him a lot of time to find the words to describe his feelings about Busch’s tragic death.  

“This one is hard for me, and I’ve struggled to put into words all that’s going through my head, but I’ll try…”

Stewart described Busch’s fiercest qualities behind the wheel and noted how he was never afraid to express his opinion. Although they did not always agree on things, “Smoke” said “Rowdy” made him a better driver. 

“Kyle Busch was a fierce competitor. He was strong-willed, confident not only in his ability behind the wheel, but in his opinions. He held his own and didn’t mince words. Early on, we didn’t always see eye to eye, but in 2008, he became my teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing… and he was a great teammate. He pushed me to be better, and we always had respect for one another. It was easy to see that Kyle was going to be a future champion,” Stewart wrote.

The 49-time Cup Series winner went on to describe the void left behind in the NASCAR world. He finished his post by offering his condolences to the Busch family. 

“What a loss for the NASCAR community and the motorsports community as a whole. Kyle was one of a kind. Whether it was to see him win or to see someone beat him, you watched. Even the haters will miss Kyle. They’ll learn in the coming weeks who he was as a person, a husband and a father. My heart goes out to his wife, Samantha, his kids Brexton and Lennix, his parents Tom and Gaye, and to his brother Kurt,” Stewart wrote.

A look at Stewart and Busch’s careers

During their time behind the wheel, Stewart and Busch were two of the most dominant drivers NASCAR has ever seen.

The two won a combined 112 races (Busch 63, Stewart 49). Stewart won three Cup Series championships (2002, 2005, 2011), while Busch was a champion twice (2015, 2019).

The two were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, but it was short lived. Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 and was teammates with Stewart for one year, before the latter left JGR at the end of 2008 to start Stewart-Haas Racing.

Stewart retired from full-time NASCAR competition in 2016. After his retirement, Busch went on to win 25 more Cup Series races and his second championship in 2019.

Since Busch’s passing on Thursday, many within the NASCAR community have posted tributes, such as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, and many others.