Another year, another ruffled Rowdy. Ever since Kyle Busch picked up a win at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2023, his trophy cabinet has gathered dust. In 2024, the two-time Cup Series champion faced his first winless year in 19 years. Fingers were primarily pointed at Richard Childress Racing, the team Busch joined at the end of 2022. However, the veteran just inked an extended deal with RCR, while pointing out the real reason for his struggles.

RCR underwent several operational changes ahead of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The results were visible as Kyle Busch picked up a streak of 3 top-ten finishes between Atlanta and Phoenix. However, as he faces a slump yet again, Busch cannot help but harp on his frustration.

Kyle Busch blames NASCAR’s whims

Remember the Lap 1 wreck at Watkins Glen last September? Ryan Blaney was involved, and NASCAR towed away his car even without allowing repairs. After widespread backlash against this ‘Damaged Vehicle Policy’ rule, NASCAR flipped it again in Talladega, where officials selectively allowed repairs, stirring even more controversy.

In response, NASCAR drastically changed the DVP policy in 2025, allowing unlimited time for repairs in the garage. However, there were caveats. If a car is unable to drive back to the pit road, it is parked. When Busch got four flat tires with 15 laps left in the Daytona 500, he went to pit road and got fresh wheels. However, the repaired car must run a green flag lap matching or exceeding the minimum speed within three laps, and Busch failed to do so. As a result, NASCAR did not allow his No. 8 Chevy to come back to the race.

These updated DVP rules proved disadvantageous for an otherwise competitive Kyle Busch in Daytona. However, this is obviously not the primary reason for Busch’s struggles at RCR, but it did highlight how inconsistent and ever-changing NASCAR rules can be, and Kyle Busch touched on this during a Charlotte Motor Speedway press conference. Busch explained the reason for his winless streak starting after the three-win season in 2023 with RCR.

Rowdy said, “Being able to continue on when I first joined, I feel like there were some things that we were doing within the rules at that time that got us some extra speed, and then, there was definitely some things that came down that they didn’t like us doing. So that’s sort of where we’ve lost a little bit if people are wondering, why have we not been able to win like we did in the first 16 races.”

Richard Childress has overhauled his Cup Series team to suit Kyle Busch‘s needs. Some of the organizational changes involve the promotion of Mike Verlander to President of RCR after he held the same role at Kyle Busch Motorsports. Other moves included Torrey Galida’s ascension from president to vice chairman, along with the addition of John Klausmeier as technical director. Overall, Childress is confident in Busch’s growth, with a contract extension through 2026. “I still think that Kyle will win him a championship, and we want it to happen at RCR, and that’s our plans,” he said.

Moreover, Kyle Busch has also snuffed the possibilities of retirement. That is because he has a major responsibility to execute.

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Passing the baton of racing

The Busch family will always remain synonymous with motorsports. It all started with Tom Busch, who was a mechanic at a Ford dealership and a tool dealer. He passed down that automotive passion to his sons, Kurt Busch, 2004 Cup Series champion, and also Kyle Busch. The laurels of the latter hardly need an introduction.

From fetching 232 NASCAR national series victories to fetching the 2015 championship with a broken leg, Busch’s achievements are vast. Even though he faces a 70-race winless streak, Busch’s determination is unfazed. What is more? He is eager to pass the baton to his 10-year-old speedster, Brexton Busch. That is what motivates him to stave off discussions of retirement.

The little one has already clinched numerous trophies. These include 45 race wins in 2024 or the Golden Driller trophy at the 2025 Tulsa Shootout. Kyle Busch recently also raced his son at Millbridge Speedway, and wants to continue that until he can race Trucks with Brexton when the latter turns 16. That means another 6-year plan in NASCAR.

Busch said, “There’s kind of the vision or the plan, if you will, on being able to race in some truck races with Brexton alongside. So obviously, that’s six years from now before he can make that start. So that would sort of be an idea of when I would look at stepping aside from Cup Series racing, but it’s a long way out.”

Clearly, Kyle Busch remains unfazed in his Cup Series journey. No matter NASCAR’s changed rules, Rowdy may have some fire left in him yet to power through to some more victories.