In 2024, Kyle Busch had a heartbreaking moment. The season marked his first in 19 years of winning at least one NASCAR Cup Series race. And his breaking point was at the regular season finale in Daytona, where the Richard Childress Racing driver had a legitimate chance to win. Yet Harrison Burton, receiving a push from Parker Retzlaff, made a last-lap pass on Busch to win his first Cup race and clinch a place in the playoffs. That may have turned Busch stone-cold about the NASCAR playoffs.

The 40-year-old veteran has the most wins of any active driver, boasting 63 trophies. Younger racers look up to Kyle Busch’s long history in the sport. Hence, when inexperienced rivals get into the playoffs with a win, Busch’s apathy for NASCAR rises. And that apathy is well in place amidst the fresh talks of tweaking the playoff format.

Indifference towards the NASCAR playoffs

After Joey Logano scored the 2024 Cup Series title with the worst average finish (17.11) as a title winner, a massive outrage broke out. Fans and drivers demanded changing the elimination playoff format, which rewards clutch winners instead of consistent performers. Executives paid heed and formed a playoff committee composed of racers, team owners, officials, and other industry stakeholders. Yet that committee omitted a two-time Cup Series champion. That was none other than Kyle Busch, and the RCR driver sadly admitted that “nobody calls me.” So now, as the committee approaches a tweaked format of the NASCAR playoffs, Busch is not bothered. “It doesn’t matter what the system is,” Busch told Frontstretch.

Since 2022, Team Penske has dominated the title conversation. That shows that Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney’s teams have mastered the NASCAR playoffs, rising to the occasion when it mattered the most. That is what Kyle Busch highlighted as important – no matter what system NASCAR brings, you have to navigate your way through it. He said, “Everybody wants to make a big deal about what it is. If you know what it is going in, exploit it the way you need to exploit it for yourself, you make the championship.”

The last time Kyle Busch visited Victory Lane was in 2023 at Gateway – ironically, the same racetrack NASCAR visited last week. He has not made the Round of 8 since 2021. Moreover, he can still feel the sting of having exited the playoffs early in 2022 and 2023. Hence, Busch sounded slightly optimistic about NASCAR’s new format: “Yeah, I mean, I haven’t been in the playoffs in a few years. So it would be nice to get back to the playoffs and have a shot to race for something of that nature.” Yet Busch proclaimed his verdict about any of the sport’s formats: “You just gotta figure out your best way through the system in order to bring home a championship.” 

While the win-and-you’re-in format is still in place, drivers are gearing up for Bristol. And they have reason to fear Kyle Busch’s presence there.

Is a daring comeback on the cards?

Kyle Busch is currently riding an 85-race winless streak. But unlike the other poorly performing Cup Series rivals, Busch is never really out of the winner’s conversation. That is due to his spectacular history in the sport, featuring 232 victories in all three NASCAR national series. And Busch is on top of people’s minds in the upcoming Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The RCR driver leads all active drivers at Bristol with 8 victories, which would be 9 if you include the dirt race win. Right behind him is top playoff contender Denny Hamlin, who has four wins. Hence, Busch has a legitimate chance of upsetting the 16 drivers vying for a championship in the NASCAR playoffs.

“Bristol’s one of my favorite tracks…I love going there, it’s obviously a great place,” Kyle Busch said. The incredible knowledge that he has earned at the 0.533-mile short track over the years makes Busch a greater threat. He continued, “The biggest thing is restarts. You’ve got to be ready to get down to the bottom. It seems like the bottom really fires off and takes off early. And then as the pace progresses and falls off, then you’ve got to get to the top. You want to be one of the first ones up to the top so that people don’t get up in front of you and block you and not allow you through traffic. It’s just really a challenging race. It’s more of a chess game a lot of times, too, rather than just trying to figure out all raw speeds.”

Kyle Busch is looking forward to upsetting the playoffs this year. As NASCAR cooks up a new format, the veteran may come back with greater chances next season.