Kyle Busch’s performance in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has not been satisfactory. Inconsistent finishes—three top-ten and one top-five finish—made it difficult for Busch to maintain his form throughout the ten races of the season so far. Currently, he stands in 17th place in the Cup Series standings. Though he already has two Truck Series victories, things are not working out for RCR #8 in the Cup Series.

Desperate for a win, it is commendable how Rowdy remains optimistic throughout. Ahead of the outing at Dover, he opened up about how things can work out differently going forward from here.

Kyle Busch claims, results so far are aligned with his expectations

The two-time Cup Series champion is such a data freak! Busch apparently maintains a spreadsheet tracking all the points the No. 8 team has lost over the season. This is regardless of whether the losses were self-inflicted or not.

Emphasizing his races so far, Busch said, “It’s definitely not where we want to be, but I’m not shocked. We haven’t scored the finishes that we need. That’s what it boils down to. When you can get finishes, stage (points) the way that you need to then you know you’re going to be alright.” He added, “We’re 89 points to the negative on that sheet. That’s not winning races, it’s just getting the finishes that we deserve in the races and how we were running at the time when something went wrong. Give me all those points and we’re in a completely different talking zone.”

Apart from that, he expressed his discontent regarding the limited 20-minute practice sessions that have hindered his capacity to modify the No. 8 car for optimal racing conditions. Rowdy also expressed that he had a significant opportunity to win each race in the opening month of the 2024 season at the Daytona 500. He is not wrong, though.

Furthermore, Kyle Busch explained that various reasons and issues emerged during those races, which prevented him from being in a position to accumulate those points or secure victories. Even at the last race in Talladega, a misunderstanding with Ty Gibbs caused Busch to apply the brakes. Which, in turn, slowed him down and prevented him from being on the winning laps.

Rowdy’s possible turnaround from Dover?

Kyle Busch had a great chance to clinch his first triumph of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the final drag race, he finished P3 in a classic three-wide photo finish. Other than this performance in Atlanta, Rowdy’s best finishes this season were in COTA and Phoenix, where he ended at P9. Needless to mention, the upcoming series of races are crucial for Busch in order to stay relevant for the playoffs.

With a positive attitude, he heads to Dover, searching for a good result, as last year, he took the lead for the first 22 laps at Dover Motor Speedway but then got penalized for speeding on pit road, which caused the race to go downhill for him.