There may still be time for a NASCAR legend. On Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, Kyle Busch ran into disaster again. Just 27 laps in, Kyle Larson’s bump-drafting effort on Bubba Wallace turned awry, turning around the latter into rivals. One of them was Busch, who succumbed to this multi-car wreck at Daytona and finished 33rd. Although it spelled a repeat misfortune and playoff misery for the veteran, winds of change may be coming.

In NASCAR, Kyle Busch is often called the ‘winningest’ driver. That is because the two-time Cup Series champion made full use of NASCAR’s old rule. Once, drivers could run unlimited races across Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks. That rule became more rigid in the years since. However, with a new sponsor aboard, NASCAR may change its policy, and Busch may change his fortune.

Words of hope for Kyle Busch

Starting with the 2026 season, NASCAR will partner with O’Reilly Auto Parts. Replacing Xfinity, the new title sponsor of the sport’s second tier is bringing fresh conversations to the table. One of them regards allowing Cup series drivers to moonlight more often.

Since 2020, Cup drivers with three or more years of experience are limited to five starts in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series. Kyle Busch has maxed out his five-race limit in Trucks, along with Ross Chastain. But that is hardly enough for the veteran’s automotive hunger – Busch is still the all-time record holder in Trucks (67) and Xfinity (102).

Kyle Busch has an appalling 83-race winless streak in NASCAR’s premier level. After Sunday’s regular season finale in Daytona, Busch missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. Flipping this dismal state of affairs requires Busch’s presence in NASCAR’s lower levels – as his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Dillon, believes.

The Cook Out 400 winner said in a Sirius XM NASCAR episode: “I think Kyle would be all about it. And I think his confidence really is at the right place when he’s running other race cars and he’s running the Xfinity Series. Let’s just be honest, he’s the greatest to ever do it in the Xfinity Series; he’s unbelievable.”

Kyle Busch‘s last Xfinity Series win came four years ago, when he won in Atlanta in July 2021. His last Craftsman Truck Series win was in February 2025, again in Atlanta. Austin Dillon is calling for NASCAR to relax the limitation on Cup drivers, so that Busch can keep being brilliant.

Dillon continued, “More and more partners would probably be interested in it if we can get a 5-10 race schedule out there for Cup guys. It would be easier to sell a sponsor on 10 races than 5, maybe. And you can pair them together. And that makes more sense. If you get 10 and 10, then you can put together 20 between myself and Kyle Busch.” 

Austin Dillon is clearly rooting for his star-studded teammate to rise out of the ashes. Meanwhile, however, Busch was not so happy after Sunday’s race.

An indirect jab at his teammate

We all know about Kyle Busch’s misfortune. Yet even in the middle of his drab streak, the champion had many near misses. Last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 is a prime example. Busch would have won that race if not for a misjudgment on the part of fellow Chevrolet driver Parker Retzlaff.

The latter pushed Ford driver Harrison Burton on the final lap instead of Busch, and that was all that Burton needed to score his career’s first victory. He came from outside the top 30 in points to win and make the playoffs. Then, Burton was eliminated in the very first round as the 16th driver.

We do not know if Austin Dillon will be eliminated soon, but his point situation is very similar to Harrison Burton’s. His Richmond victory vaulted him from the 28th position in points to inside the playoffs. So, although Dillon is rooting for Kyle Busch, the latter took an indirect jab at his playoff scenario. Busch said recently, “If you Harrison Burton your way into the playoffs and then you’re out the first round, that doesn’t mean s—…For me, a successful season is making the playoffs and making it into the Round of 8. Making it from the Round of 8 to the Round of 4 – there’s a lot of situations that can come into play that can get you in there, or out there. A successful season is being in the playoffs, winning races, and being in the final eight.”

Clearly, the Richard Childress Racing drivers are not on equal standing. As the postseason starts, let us see how both perform – Austin Dillon’s playoff push and Kyle Busch’s victory search.