When Kyle Busch left for Richard Childress Racing in 2023, it was billed as a career reboot. The two-time Cup champion with Joe Gibbs Racing was expected to inject new life into the No.8 car and elevate RCR back to championship contention. A few promising flashes early, i.e, the win at the Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway, on February 26, 2023, hinted at that potential, but as the 2025 season unfolds, the momentum has evaporated.

Since 2023, Kyle Busch sits winless, a stark contrast to the high expectations that surrounded his switch from Joe Gibbs Racing. For a driver with Busch’s track record, this slump is more than just a cold streak. It has sparked questions about RCR’s long-term direction, crew dynamics, and whether the chemistry between Busch and his new team has ever truly clicked. The pressure has built steadily, and now key voices inside the garage are beginning to speak up publicly.

Burnett breaks the silence

Kyle Busch’s pedigree in NASCAR cannot be questioned. The driver is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, holding 232 National Series wins, the most of any active driver, and has shown flashes of brilliance this season, too. However, with the ever-growing winless streak looming as well as RCR’s underperformance as a team, questions swirl around what’s been going on.

The clearest response yet came during a recent episode of the NASCAR Live podcast, where Randall Burnett, crew chief of the No. 8 car, joined host Steve Post for an honest check-in. When Post asked, “Where are you guys at with this 8 car?” Burnett didn’t sugarcoat his response. He admitted that they are nowhere near the competitive level they had hoped for by this point in the season. “Well, obviously we are not in the exact spot we would like to be,” Burnett said, reflecting on a stretch of races that have been filled with missed chances and underwhelming results.

Tracks like Circuit of the Americas, Chicago, and Sonoma are places where Busch has shown glimpses of old Kyle. He led the most laps at COTA and finished fifth only because of a late caution and failed pit strategy, leaving him on older tires late in the race. “We have had some decent speed at a lot of tracks and through various things have taken ourselves out of it or gotten taken out of some good finishes,” added Burnett. Still, Busch hung on to finish fifth at COTA, and replicated these top-10 road course results at Chicago (5th) and Sonoma (10th). However, Busch’s struggles on intermediates have been glaring.

Burnett acknowledged that while there have been flashes of performance, it has not been sustained. “There has been some tracks where we have been absolutely terrible at,” he said bluntly, summing up the rollercoaster nature of their 2025 campaign. At intermediate ovals in 2025, Kyle Busch has just one top-10 finish, a 10th-place result at Darlington.

To make matters worse, in 6 of his last 10 races at intermediate tracks, Busch has finished outside the top 15! Arguably, his most underwhelming performance of the season so far came at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Kyle was lounging in the 20s all race, finishing 21st, as his RCR teammate, Austin Dillon, ran amongst the top 10 and finished 13th.

The struggle is real for Kyle Busch right now, and with the playoffs in sight, the #8 team needs to work quickly to ensure Busch doesn’t miss out for the second year in a row.

Busch’s window is closing as the field surges ahead 

The timing of Kyle Busch’s struggles couldn’t be more critical. With the NASCAR Playoffs just around the corner and only six races left to secure a spot, his margin for error is nearly gone. For a driver with Busch’s pedigree, each underwhelming finish now feels like a blow to a legacy built on consistency and late-season dominance. The pressure is mounting with every race weekend, and the opportunity to flip the narrative is slipping away fast.

While Busch and RCR search for answers, the rest of the field is finding its rhythm. Kyle Larson has already collected three wins, while Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin are building momentum at the right time. Even playoff contenders like Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe have found ways to capitalize. But RCR seems to be moving in slow motion. It’s not just about falling short of the Hendrick or Gibbs standard; it’s about how visible that shortfall becomes when someone like Busch is behind the wheel. A driver of his caliber carries expectations that the current results simply fail to meet.

However, Busch has always been defined by how he rises under pressure, but if the No. 8 continues to peak only in practice or qualifying, then the story of redemption at RCR may never make it to the checkered flag. Randall Burnett’s candid comments offered a rare glimpse into the challenges RCR is facing this season. His perspective, along with Busch’s own remarks, highlights a team still searching for rhythm and consistency. Do you think Kyle Busch can turn his season around in 2025? Let us know in the comments!