Kyle Busch is undoubtedly on a Hall of Fame track, with two championships and 63 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series plus 233 victories in all three national touring series.
Nowadays, Busch contending for wins and titles has given way to him battling to stay on the lead lap. Ever since joining Richard Childress Racing in 2023, the pairing transitioned from a ‘return to greatness’ period with a three-win season to wondering what exactly went wrong.
Busch’s winless streak currently sits at 102 with his last win coming at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2023. Since then, the 40-year old veteran’s stats have taken a dip, with Busch earning only three top-fives in 2025.
The start of the 2026 season has been more of the same, as Busch has yet to score a top-ten finish and currently sits 27th in points. His RCR teammate Austin Dillon sits only two spots above in 25th, but has seemingly spent more time contending around the top 15.
This year’s struggles haven’t been a random occurrence. The early signs of a decline in performance can be traced back to the 2020 season, where Busch only scored one win the season after claiming his second Cup Series championship. From ’20 to ‘22, Busch claimed only four victories in the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. When comparing the final three years at JGR to the same sample size at RCR, Busch earned 18 more top fives, 22 more top 10’s, and one more win in his final year under Coach Gibbs.
The Next Gen Car
Busch has also expressed his aversion to the Next Gen car, and how he can’t always drive the car the way he’s accustomed to.
“I’m the kind of guy that likes to have the right rear to lean on and to punish it,” Busch said in an episode of Kevin Harvick’s ‘Happy Hour’ podcast. “It’s so difficult to find the exact package of what you are looking for.”
In a recent interview with Sean Hannity, Busch briefly mentioned the early days of the current car and how NASCAR ‘smacked hands’ to teams testing the limits of the rules.
“We got our hands smacked for some of the stuff that we we’re doing to the race car,” Busch said. “We exploited a gray area and we found something and had an advantage.”
Adapting to Jim Pohlman
The season has brought a change on top of the pit box, with former O’Reilly Series Champion crew chief Jim Pohlman taking over for the No. 8 team.
“His attitude is every different, he’s very methodical,” Busch said. “He’s a go-getter, he will say it straight and will tell you if you’re doing something wrong.”
Despite that strong working relationship, Busch’s on-track performance falls short of expectations. Busch now finds himself in yet another contract-year, which may also affect his results and overall performance.
