NASCAR suspended Kurt Busch for this weekend at Pocono Raceway for telling a Sporting News reporter that probation "refrains me from not beating (the expletive) out of you."

Its defending Sprint Cup champion took a decidedly different stance on Busch's remarks Tuesday night on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's NASCAR channel.

"I'll be honest, I liked (Busch's) answer," Tony Stewart said. "I kind of thought it was good when it pertains to Bob Pockrass. Bob's a decent guy. But there's just so many good things to write about in our sport. There's a couple of reporters that strictly want to be tabloid journalists. Unfortunately, he's one of them."

Busch's latest outburst occurred after finishing fourth in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway. Asked by Pockrass whether being on probation impacted how he raced Justin Allgaier, Busch replied, "It refrains me from not beating the (expletive) out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions. But since I'm on probation, I suppose that's improper to say as well. If you could talk about racing things, we could talk about racing things, Bob."

After Pockrass responded, "This is racing," Busch replied, "It's not racing. You're in this just to start stuff. That's all you're out here for."

Busch apologized in a statement Monday after being punished. But speaking on a special edition of Tony Stewart Live to promote his Prelude to the Dream charity all-star exhibition race Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway, Stewart stood up for the 2004 champion.

"Sad but true: Kurt is right," Stewart said. "Bob Pockrass is probably the biggest mixer in the whole media center. Everytime he interviews somebody, it is strictly about something controversial."

Stewart's view wasn't that surprising considering he has had countless run-ins with the news media throughout his 14 seasons in NASCAR's premier series. In 2002, he was put on probation and fined $10,000 by NASCAR for striking a photographer after the Brickyard 400. His weekly media sessions usually are the most curt and often caustic among Sprint Cup drivers.

Stewart did give Pockrass, who was named the 2009 National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, credit for being among the first journalists at the track each week and for logging long hours. Pockrass responded to Stewart's criticisms in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports late Wednesday morning.

"I appreciate Tony acknowledging my work ethic," Pockrass wrote. "He also indicated that I aggressively pursue people involved in controversies to get comment. That's certainly something any journalist wouldn't apologize for doing as that is the staple for fair and accurate reporting. I do disagree with him that I focus solely on controversial topics, but realistically, people can go to the Sporting News website and decide for themselves."