In a recent interview with Graham Bensinger during his show “In Depth,” two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch explained why he and former crew chief Adam Stevens parted ways.
Going into the offseason after the 2020 season, Busch asked Stevens to make some “personnel” changes on the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. Stevens did not see eye to eye with Busch’s requests.
“I asked Adam for a couple changes to be made over the offseason, and he didn’t agree with my philosophy on those changes,” Busch told Bensinger. “So he said you know what, I’m going to do something different and let you do something different and we’ll see what happens.'”
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Stevens now works with Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Christopher Bell on the No. 20 Toyota team, while Busch has new chief chief Ben Beshore at the helm for the 2021 season.
Busch said he was “shocked” when Stevens told him that he wanted to end their relationship.
“I was like, well, essentially you just told me you quit on me,” Busch said. “So … uh, OK. See you later. Now I have to go find somebody else on who’s going to be the next guy to step in and take over the reins to be crew chief for the 18 M&Ms team.
“I flat-out told him in the beginning of the conversation that I believe in you. I trust in you. I want you. You’re my guy. We’ve done this already for six years. We’ve won two championships. Like, there’s chemistry here and we have a working relationship where we understand one another.”
For more comments from Busch, the full segment of the episode with Busch can be found here.