“Every Goddamn Week”: Kyle Busch’s Curse Continues at Darlington Leaving Fans Devastated

Darlington is not Kyle Busch’s playground. Last year at the Cook Out Southern 500, Busch fought hard but ultimately fell just short, finishing second to Chase Briscoe in what felt like déjà vu at the track he struggles to conquer. Despite strong efforts and reminiscing flashes of his prime, Busch couldn’t seal the deal, reinforcing the notion that Darlington has long vexed him. This misfortune appears to have spilled to 2025. Whether it’s the track course or plain old bad luck, the string of bad outcomes feels less like an isolated incident and more like history repeating itself for the No. 8 team.

The 40-year-old’s Darlington outing was yet another chapter in his 2025 season curse. His race began on the back foot with a pit stop as early as lap 4, joining a handful of drivers heading to pit road, namely Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, and Timmy Hill. Busch’s crew worked quickly to get him back on track, but they only set the tone for a day where track position would be an uphill battle. By lap 39, he was back in for service again, putting alongside Cole Custer, suggesting an early shift and strategy or a reaction to tire wear and handling issues.

But before that, Kyle Busch was caught up in someone else’s mess. Josh Berry, who had started on the second row, wiggled and crashed in a chain reaction on the opening lap that left Busch with early damage before the race even settled into a rhythm. For a driver already battling a string of bad luck at this track, the incident was a gut punch, forcing the No. 8 team to play catch-up from the outset.

The No. 8 team kept trying to adjust, while Kyle Busch made another trip to pit road on lap 75 during a wave of stops that included several front-runners. Each stop seems to cost him just enough momentum to keep him from mounting a serious charge into the top five. The recurring need to hit pit road, combined with the competitive shuffle at the front, left Kyle Busch unable to break his string of frustrating Darlington runs. For fans, it was yet another agonizing watch, every small gain undone by circumstances that called his recent misfortune at the track. A frustrated Kyle Busch didn’t hesitate to express his frustration over the radio. He said, ” Who the f—- ran over me from behind three f—— times while slowing down? We will most likely pit for tires. I can’t see how these won’t be f——- jumping. God damn. Every. God. Damn. Week.”

Ever After qualifying at Darlington, Busch was realistic about expectations, especially for his No. 8 car. He said, “Ain’t no telling, hard to tell with practice and everything and different groups and speeds and things like that, hard to say.” Reflecting on his upbeat comments about RCR after Daytona, where his race ended in yet another early crash within the first 30 laps, Kyle credited the team for giving him fast cars at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega. However, he acknowledged that luck hasn’t been on his side in 2025, going so far as to say he has been bitten when it comes to race results.

However, it was this run-in incident this evening at Darlington that lit up social media, with Busch loyalists and critics weighing in almost instantly.

Fans weigh in on Kyle Busch’s bad luck

One fan joked, “Busch gonna need them lawyers,” while another quipped, “LOL—Kyle Busch decides he’d rather bail towards the outside wall than risk hitting Chase again.” This reference was to the race at Richmond, where Kyle Busch apologized to Chase Elliott after the crash nearly ended Elliott’s race and title hopes. The wreck appeared on lap 198 when Kyle clipped Chase Briscoe, triggering chaos that collected Elliott. Despite the setback, Elliott said he wasn’t mad, recognizing it was simply bad racing luck.

Longtime supporters expressed sympathy, with one posting, “My boy @KyleBusch can’t catch a break for anything. 🫠.” Kyle Busch’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has been nothing short of a nightmare. The Richard Childress Racing veteran is far from his prime form, enduring another winless campaign with the last victory dating back to June 2023. As the playoffs kicked off this weekend, the veteran openly admitted that fortune hasn’t favored him this year. For only the second time in his career, the former champion missed the playoffs, now mired in an 83-race winless streak that shows no signs of ending.

Others pointed to the handling woes of the Next-Gen car, which was more suitable for Kyle Busch, saying, “This car sucks. Xfinity car is at least saveable and able to slide a bit.” It was a mix of humor, frustration, and resignation, the online chorus echoing how much they have come to expect from Busch’s luck at Darlington. Now, amid Kyle Busch coming clean about his Cup Series misery, all eyes will be on him to see how he fares at Darlington.