Within the NASCAR Cup Collection, there isn’t a driver with as many wins at Kyle Busch (63), though Denny Hamlin is transferring ever-closer.
The 40-year-old Busch gained at the very least one race yearly between 2005 and 2023 in his Corridor of Fame profession. That closing yr earlier than the spectacular streak got here to a grinding halt was his very first with Richard Childress Racing, and the two-time Cup champion got here out of the gate swinging. After battling for the Daytona 500 win, he earned his first victory with RCR in simply his second begin with the group at Auto Membership Speedway.
Busch went on to win three of the primary 15 races that yr, and hopes have been hovering for the No. 8 group. That third win got here at Gateway on June 4, 2023, main 121 of 243 laps from pole place. Shockingly, that victory can be the final.
Virtually three full years and 100 begins later, Busch has but to win one other Cup race. So, what’s occurred?
Some level the finger at RCR for struggling to maintain up because the bigger groups get quicker and father, others at Busch’s age or his personal problem in adapting to the wildly totally different Gen-7 automotive, or possibly it is a mixture of all of those causes and extra.
Regardless, the very fact stays that it has been 100 races since Busch gained on the Cup degree, and it hasn’t been for an absence of effort. This is a glance again on the 5 moments when Busch got here closest to securing his long-awaited sixty fourth profession win.
Atlanta 2024 – Closest three-wide photograph end in historical past
Watch: Hear FOX Sports activities Latin America’s name of Daniel Suárez’s wild Atlanta win
Daytona 2024 — Handed by an underdog on the ultimate lap
Watch: Harrison Burton claims win No. 100 for Wooden Brothers Racing
Darlington 2024 – Only a automotive size away
Watch: Chase Briscoe fends off Kyle Busch to win, clinch playoff spot at Darlington
Kansas 2024 — Spinning from the lead
Watch: ‘I’m numb, I don’t know what to do,’: Kyle Busch walks away P19
COTA 2025 — A dominant race with a disappointing finish
Watch: Kyle Busch: ‘Want it was us’ after developing brief at COTA
Since that final win at Gateway nearly three years in the past, Busch has seven finishes of both second or third. Busch has led 381 laps since then as effectively, however he is additionally been concerned in a large number of incidents as he battles an ill-handling No. 8 Chevrolet most race weekends as of late.
Regardless of the shut calls and different alternatives, the win column stays empty for KB, and 2026 has been a step within the mistaken route. Busch has but to attain a high ten by way of the primary seven races, and neither has his teammate Austin Dillon. He opened the yr by incomes pole place for the Daytona 500, however that is about it for the No. 8 group, even with a brand new crew chief on the pit field. Frustrations are excessive throughout the group, and a lot of the Chevrolet camp appears to have misplaced a step as they alter to the up to date ZL1 physique.
Busch’s win drought enters the triple digits as he arrives in Bristol, a observe the place he was as soon as unstoppable. The one hat trick weekend sweep in NASCAR historical past occurred at this iconic half-mile, and it was Busch behind the wheel. He has eight Cup wins at Bristol and no lively driver comes near that quantity, however he has no end larger than 14th within the Subsequent Gen period on the observe (excluding a win on Bristol Filth in 2022).
It is also not unprecedented to see Cup veterans return to Victory Lane after such a prolonged absence. Brad Keselowski ended a 110-race winless streak at Darlington in 2024. And that is nowhere close to the report. Invoice Elliott as soon as went an astonishing 226 races (seven years) between race wins later in his profession.
However the place can Busch lastly finish this drought and win for the sixty fourth time within the Cup Collection? In the intervening time, the choices appear restricted to superspeedways, however RCR’s most up-to-date triumphs each got here on the Richmond brief observe with Austin Dillon profitable there in back-to-back years. We all know that Busch has the expertise to struggle for wins with this No. 8 Chevrolet when it has the tempo, however will he get that chance once more? That is still to be seen…
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