Everyone is secretly rooting for that ‘Rowdy’ win. And with Kyle Busch’s disappointing 2025 season, the two-time Cup Series champion has had underwhelming performances with just two top fives, eight top 10s, and only 62 laps led across 32 races. Now, the No. 8 driver looks to break that cycle. With the NASCAR Cup Series heading to the Round of 8 opener, Busch may just be able to break the streak of bad luck

Kyle Busch ran a solid, if unspectacular, race at his home run in Las Vegas. As the race progressed into the final stage, he hovered around the top 10, working through traffic and cycles. By lap 254, he was inside the top 10, listed ninth behind Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and many others.

Speaking post-race, ‘Rowdy’ had a huge smile on his face, saying, ” I’m proud of the entire No. 8 Chevrolet team for getting us to a place from qualifying 32nd to finishing eighth today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We worked throughout the race to correct rear grip issues and a loose-handling Chevy to get the car to a competitive pace by race’s end. Now the name of the game is consistency and continuing to finish out front the remainder of the season, and of course, get our Richard Childress Racing machine back to victory lane.” 

By stage one, the No. 8 driver had made his way to 25th place, showing some raw speed and staying consistent while avoiding major incidents. By the end of stage 2, Busch held up the 17th spot. He maintained the study pace even though he did not contend for the win as William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin battled at the front. The two-time Cup Series champion managed to score 29 points for Richard Childress Racing.

And let’s be honest, this performance was much needed after last weekend’s Charlotte race, with fans calling him “washed”. The Bank of America Roval 400 was supposed to be a playoff turning point, but for Kyle Busch, it was a nightmare from the start. Starting deep in 28th, the RCR Driver barely made it past turn 1 before the chaos truck. Spire Motorsports No. 77 driver Carson Hocevar clipped him, sending the 40-year-old slamming into the wall and spinning out on the first lap.

However, the Las Vegas native’s safe performance this race, which earned him an 8th-place finish, is quite commendable with a new crew chief in place. Busch hasn’t shied away from listing down the changes and shortcomings that RCR has endured, as he pointed out that the team needs to do better, saying, “Some consistency, you know, just some more of knowing why we’re doing what we’re doing instead of some sort of shooting from the hip, if you will.”

But with this LV magic and momentum on his side, Kyle Busch looks to pick up the trophy in Talladega and  Martinsville. However, amid the season struggles Kyle faces, one fellow driver believes that some part of it is the Gen 7 car’s fault…

Chris Buescher explains why the Gen 7 cars hurt veterans like Kyle Busch

Since its inception in 2022, some drivers have sounded off about issues with the car; however, it has some distinct disadvantages, particularly in the performance of veteran drivers, and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher believes that it has created challenges for drivers like Kyle Busch.

Buescher said, “It’s more just like the now gen (now generation), it’s not really the Next Gen. It’s not really the next gen, right? … To me it’s helped your younger generation come in. [But] it’s hurt your veterans more than some others, especially ones that weren’t able to adapt to the different style racing. I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that they’re just durable

Looking at Kyle’s numbers, Chris’s point holds weight. From 2012 to 2021, during the Gen 6 era, Busch won two championships in 2015 and 2019 and finished between second and fourth three other times. In that decade, he only finished outside the top 10 once, in 13th place in 2012.

However, since the Gen 7 car arrived in 2022, Busch has struggled like never before, finishing 13th and 14th in 2022 and 2023 and missing the playoffs both years. At 40, he is in the midst of the longest winless streak of his career, entering this weekend’s Las Vegas race having not visited victory Lane in 89 races, dating back to 2023.

But with an increased horsepower to 750 hp amid the flurry of changes occurring next year, anything is possible, and for the Busch fans, they are definitely wanting this season to end faster than ever as they look upwards in 2026.