Revenge. That’s what Kyle Busch may be looking for at the upcoming All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. While many thought Rowdy’s ‘bad boy’ era was behind him and that the Nevada native had mellowed down with age, the racer is proving he still has some of that edge left, which made him a two-time Cup Series champ years ago. The 40-year-old won’t have to look hard to find drivers who can be issued a payback, but he has given Hamlin a heads-up so that the veteran steers clear.

With the promoter’s caution bringing with it plenty of controversy for the 2025 All-Star race, could Busch save NASCAR the embarrassment by taking matters into his own hands? Time will tell. Having gone 69 races without a win, the No. 8 Chevy driver will be desperate to get back into Victory Lane, even though no points are on the line.

Kyle Busch has a plan in place

When the concept of a promoter’s caution was revealed for the All-Star race, it was met with skepticism, even ridicule from many in the NASCAR garage. The race has become something of a testing ground to try out new ideas, but while fans are all for shaking things up, this one felt like a ‘questionable gimmick’ to many, raising plenty of eyebrows. According to the rule, Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith has the power to throw a caution before Lap 220 of the 250-lap event.

However, he can only use this power once, and if a natural yellow occurs before Lap 200, the promoter’s caution becomes invalid. On that note, Kyle Busch said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “On Lap 200, we all need to figure out who we’re gonna run into. It’s going to be payback central. If I’m running 12th and I’ve got no shot to win, and there’s a few select drivers in front of me, I am going to take care of Marcus’ yellow.”

Kyle Busch probably has a few drivers in mind that he will want to run into. Last year, ‘Rowdy’ got into an infamous brawl with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after the two drivers tangled when the race began, and the No. 8 Chevy deliberately wrecked Stenhouse in the second lap. Eager to take revenge, Stenhouse Jr. parked his damaged Chevrolet in Busch’s pit stall, climbed up his spotter’s ladder, and exchanged words with his crew.

Things just escalated from that point on. The two drivers exchanged some words after the race before Stenhouse Jr. landed a right hook on Busch. What followed was an all-out brawl between not just the racers but their respective crew members as well. If that incident is anything to go by, ‘Rowdy’ will have the Hyak Motorsports driver at the top of his ‘payback’ list at North Wilkesboro. Brad Keselowski is also another driver who could be on the list.

The two drivers have a rivalry that spans decades, and there’s clearly no love lost between them. Back in 2010, during the driver’s announcement at Bristol Motor Speedway, Keselowski had infamously said, “Kyle Busch is an a-s” on the mic, and there was no looking back from that point on. Both racers have been involved in their fair share of tussles at Texas and Talladega already this season, and Busch might want to take revenge if he can at North Wilkesboro. As they say, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold.’

However, the two did recently appear in a commercial to promote NASCAR’s return to Homestead Miami for the 2026 Championship race. Busch and Keselowski parodied ‘Back to the Future’ in a buddy comedy setting, but Busch was not so keen on the ‘buddy’ bit. Rowdy opened up on his collaboration with Keselowski, saying, “We don’t necessarily have a relationship. I probably don’t have a relationship with half of these guys here anyway. So we just show up and do our deal… That was definitely weird. But hey, when you’re a good actor, you can make anything work.”

However, his gripe with Keselowski is the least of his issues at the moment, as NASCAR continues to infuriate him.

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Busch compares the promoter’s caution to a circus

Kyle Busch has his reasons to question the All-Star race’s newest rule. After all, the short track package on the Next-Gen car has left a lot to be desired in recent years, with overtaking notoriously difficult on venues such as Bristol Motor Speedway, North Wilkesboro, and Martinsville. While the promoter’s caution is meant to inject a bit of drama in the race, given the limitations of the car, will it serve the objective?

These are some of the questions that will only be answered in the upcoming weekend. However, Busch, who won the All-Star race in 2017, couldn’t help but express his disappointment. Comparing the rule to a circus, he said, “What are we doing? If we’re Bailey and Barnum (the circus), then let’s just freaking call it Bailey and Barnum. I mean, they went out of business.” Discussing it with Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, the two even joked about letting a drunk fan decide when the caution should take place.

If the last two years are anything to go by, overtaking won’t be easy at the 0.625-mile oval. Last year, Joey Logano won the race from pole position, leading 199 out of 200 laps. The year before that, Daniel Suarez led from pole until Kyle Larson made the pass after 55 laps and went on to win the race. This year’s race will feature a ‘competition caution’ around the 100-lap mark, which will also serve as a break. Could it prove to be a difference maker? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!