“Managing Them Was Like Holding Two Grenades” — Joe Gibbs Finally Breaks His Silence on Kyle Busch & Tony Stewart

He’s known as one of the most composed and respected figures in American sports. A Super Bowl-winning NFL coach. A championship-caliber NASCAR team owner. A quiet force behind the scenes. But for years, Joe Gibbs has refused to speak in detail about two of the most combustible personalities to ever wear his team’s colors. Until now.

In a stunning new interview that took place behind closed doors during a sit-down with select media in Charlotte, **Joe Gibbs finally opened up about the firestorm that was Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart—two drivers who defined JGR Racing for over a decade and very nearly tore it apart from the inside.

And his words? They were anything but sugar-coated.

“They were both explosive,” Gibbs said. “And I had to control it—or lose the whole damn garage.”

It’s the side of Joe Gibbs Racing that few ever saw. Until now.

Inside the Chaos: When Two Alphas Shared a Garage—and No One Blinked

Tony Stewart arrived at Joe Gibbs Racing in 1999 like a live grenade with the pin barely hanging on. At the time, NASCAR was still adjusting to the void left by icons like Earnhardt Sr. and the rise of a more “corporate” image. But Stewart didn’t care. He was brash, blunt, and hot-headed—and frighteningly fast.

According to Gibbs, managing Tony Stewart was like coaching a storm. “You never knew which Tony you were getting at the track. One day he’s charming the crew. The next he’s threatening to knock out a photographer.”

But the results? Unmistakable. Stewart gave Gibbs his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2002, and his aggressive style helped push JGR into the elite tier of racing organizations. Yet behind the trophies and champagne, Gibbs admits he was already bracing for something bigger—and potentially much more volatile.

Because in 2008, he brought in someone who made even Tony Stewart look tame by comparison: Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch’s arrival was controversial from day one. Dropped by Hendrick Motorsports. Labeled “immature” and “uncoachable.” But Gibbs saw something else: raw, dangerous talent. He took a risk—and it nearly broke his team apart.

“Kyle was fire,” Gibbs said. “And Tony was gasoline. I had them both on my team at the same time. And I had to be the match.”

The two drivers rarely interacted, at least publicly. But the tension? Palpable.

Insiders recall one afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway when Stewart walked out of the hauler as Busch walked in. Neither spoke. Neither nodded. Just silence—and smoke in the air.

And Gibbs? He stood in the middle, arms crossed, praying the team would survive both.

Joe Gibbs Reveals the Moment He Nearly Quit NASCAR Altogether

For a man who once managed NFL legends and called plays in the Super Bowl, Joe Gibbs is no stranger to pressure. But when asked if there was ever a moment he thought about walking away from NASCAR, his answer came quicker than expected.

“Absolutely. 2009. That was the year.”

At the time, Tony Stewart had just left JGR to form Stewart-Haas Racing, and Kyle Busch had started to show the full spectrum of his personality: devastatingly talented, often impossible to manage.

“Tony leaving wasn’t just business—it felt personal. I felt like I failed him,” Gibbs confessed. “And then Kyle—he started clashing with everyone. Sponsors. Crew chiefs. Officials. There was a weekend where I sat in my motorcoach and just thought: ‘I don’t need this anymore.’”

That weekend, according to a team source, was Bristol. Busch had wrecked late in the race, thrown a tantrum on live TV, and refused to speak with the team afterward. Two days later, he skipped a sponsor obligation. The fallout was massive.

Gibbs reportedly took a flight to Washington to speak with longtime confidants. Not about racing. But about retirement.

“I wasn’t sure I could manage personalities like that in the modern sport. NASCAR was changing. Sponsors wanted clean-cut. Social media was watching everything. And I had these two guys who could win on Sunday and start a firestorm by Monday.”

But he didn’t walk away. And that’s when things began to change.

The Turning Point: How Gibbs Transformed Chaos Into Championships

Looking back, Joe Gibbs says there was never one conversation or magical meeting that fixed it all. The secret, he says, was patience—and understanding why drivers like Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart behaved the way they did.

“Tony never got mad without a reason. It always came from loyalty. If he blew up at someone, it’s usually because he thought they were disrespecting the team. Same with Kyle. Most of his meltdowns weren’t about ego. They were about expectations.”

In 2015, Kyle Busch finally delivered Joe Gibbs Racing a Cup Series championship. It was an emotional moment—especially since it came the same year Busch suffered a horrifying injury at Daytona. For Gibbs, it was proof that everything—the arguments, the fines, the sleepless nights—had been worth it.

“You can’t tame drivers like that. You just have to give them a track to run on. And make sure the rails are strong enough to survive the ride.”

As for Tony Stewart? Their relationship has matured over time. Stewart still runs Stewart-Haas Racing, but the tension with Gibbs has long cooled.

They’ve shared dinners. Prayed together. And more than once, they laughed about the sheer insanity of their shared past.

“Tony and Kyle… they were my biggest challenge,” Gibbs says. “But they also made me the team owner I am today.”

He pauses.

“They were chaos. But they were championship chaos.”

And in racing—as in life—that might be the rarest kind.

The Legacy of Control Without Containment

Today, Joe Gibbs is often described as the steady hand in the storm of American motorsport. But his latest revelations suggest something more complex—and more admirable.

He didn’t succeed in spite of having drivers like Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch.

He succeeded because he found a way to understand them.

Because where others saw risk, he saw opportunity.

Because where others saw combustibility, he saw championship fire.

And because where others tried to control, Joe Gibbs chose to lead.

Fans may always remember Tony Stewart for his temper and Kyle Busch for his controversies. But behind both men stood someone who took the heat, absorbed the backlash, and turned it into trophies.

And now, for the first time, we’re finally hearing his side of the story.

The man who once coached football dynasties and then wrangled two of NASCAR’s wildest stars simply puts it like this:

“I never asked them to be polite. I just asked them to be fast. The rest? I handled.”

And based on how history played out—he absolutely did.