Kyle Busch’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a roller coaster of speed, promise, and frustration. And the playoff picture is getting uncomfortably tight. After the Iowa race, Busch’s playoff hopes were hanging in the balance. He was in the 18th spot, seventy-three points behind 16th-place Chris Buescher. While the No. 8 Chevrolet has shown flashes of race-winning pace, a string of missed opportunities and mid-pack finishes has left the two-time Cup champion fighting from behind in the points standings. And the Watkins race was no different either.

Every race now feels like a must-perform scenario for Busch, with little to no room for error and plenty of pressure to deliver. Watkins Glen offered a prime opportunity to claw back ground and prove the team’s potential. But instead of a momentum-building result, a pivotal moment on track would turn his day and possibly his playoff hopes upside down.

On-track incidents undermine Kyle Busch’s performance

Kyle Busch qualified impressively for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, securing a fifth-place starting spot. His qualifying time of 1:12.144 seconds placed him among the fastest on the challenging 2.45-mile road course. Naturally, it set high expectations for a competitive run in the race’s earlier stages. “It was good to qualify in the top five this weekend,” Kyle Busch said about the positive start to the weekend.

Busch leveraged that strong starting position by running near the front for much of the first two stages. The No. 8 Chevrolet demonstrated solid speed and handling, allowing Busch to stay in the mix with the leading pack. For a significant part of the race, he was positioned well to contend, highlighting the power and balance of his car.

However, at roughly the halfway point on lap 45, Busch was involved in a critical on-track incident with Denny Hamlin. Exiting Turn 7, Hamlin was three-wide alongside Busch and Ross Chastain when Busch made contact with Hamlin. This resulted in both cars getting momentarily stuck together before breaking apart, costing Busch valuable track position. “We lost lot of track position at roughly the halfway point after on track contact,” explained a disappointed Kyle Busch.

But, this wasn’t the only incident for Kyle Busch. Later, on lap 67, Daniel Suarez sent Busch off course at the bus stop chicane, forcing him into the grass and causing further position losses. Despite his best efforts to recover, Busch was unable to regain a competitive spot and ultimately finished 22nd. Not a good outing for The Rowdy after starting 5th.

Looking ahead, Busch acknowledges the need to refocus for Richmond Raceway, the penultimate regular-season race. “Now we’ll focus on Richmond and racing our way into the playoffs,” he explained. Richmond has been a track where Busch has found success, boasting multiple wins (6 overall) and top-10 finishes in recent years. He and his team are determined to regroup, aiming to race their way back into playoff contention with strong performances on this short track.

Then, there’s the season finale at Daytona. This setback at Watkins Glen underscores the fine margins in NASCAR’s points race and the importance of clean racing amid high stakes as the playoffs draw near. What do you think? Will Kyle Busch make it to the playoffs this year? Or does it now look like a far-fetched dream? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Kyle Busch explains the key factor in NASCAR fan decline

Kyle Busch isn’t one to sugarcoat his opinions, and his latest take on NASCAR pulls no punches. The two-time Cup Series champion believes a big reason for the sport’s recent dip in popularity comes down to what he calls a toned-down racing product. In his eyes, NASCAR has lost some of the raw danger and unpredictability that once made it must-watch TV. “Now it seems like everything is neutered,” Kyle Busch said.

Speaking with Jeff Gluck for The Athletic’s “12 Questions,” Busch explained that while safety improvements were obviously needed, they came with a cost. Back in the day, there was a genuine “risk” vibe to NASCAR. Fans didn’t know if a driver would be okay after a big wreck, and that uncertainty added to the drama. Now, Busch says, nobody really gets hurt, and that element of risk is gone, making the racing feel bland for some viewers.

“So there’s not this Evel Knievel type thing happening anymore. It’s just going to watch a race on Sunday, and people feel like that’s boring,” Busch explained. The numbers seem to back up his concerns. TV ratings for the 2025 Cup Series are down roughly 11–14% compared to last year. But Busch doesn’t just blame safety rules.

He thinks there’s also been a cultural shift. NASCAR’s core fanbase, the “hot rod guys” and families who packed the stands, has thinned out over the years. “A lot of those guys are aged out,” Busch explained. Younger audiences, he says, have endless entertainment options, many of them faster-paced and more interactive than a three-hour race.

For Busch, the sport is now at a crossroads. NASCAR has done an incredible job protecting drivers and making the cars safer. But in doing so, it might have lost the edge that made it feel wild, unpredictable, and dangerous. The big question is whether NASCAR can find that sweet spot. It all comes down to keeping drivers safe while bringing back some of the thrill that made fans fall in love with the sport in the first place.