For Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing, it’s no longer victory lane that’s lighting the way. The team has come under fire this season. Despite relentless effort from engineers and crew, they continue to battle recurring mechanical failures and a persistent lack of pace across multiple tracks. Once-promising performances have faded, leaving the owner, sponsors, and fans questioning what went wrong. Recently, following Richard Childress’s fiery on-air meltdown, declaring, “We are in trouble. Period,” veteran driver Kyle Busch has finally broken his silence. His blunt verdict reflects months of hope eroded by mounting disappointment.

Just two years into his tenure with RCR, Kyle Busch showed early promise. After a strong 2023 season that included three wins and a revitalized No. 8 program, he extended his contract in late 2024, signaling continued faith in the team’s potential. Fast forward to 2025, and that momentum has stalled. Through 21 races, the Chevrolet has yet to visit victory lane, and Busch managed two top-five finishes, both at road courses, and seven top-ten finishes overall. The early season might have held promise, but consistency and speed have evaporated as the schedule progressed.

Inside the silence, something is brewing at RCR

Recently at Dover Motor Speedway, Kyle finished 11th, a disappointing result considering his history on the high-banked 1-mile oval, where he has won thrice before. After the race, Richard didn’t mince words over team radio, saying, “Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.” That was followed by a fiery speech at the RCR shop, as outlined by crew chief Richard Boswell, who revealed RC demanded tangible improvements and not just words.

Ahead of the race at Indy, Kyle Busch was asked about the aftermath. Busch didn’t hold back. He went on to say, “I can only speculate, but I’m sure there were plenty of meetings this week. I’m not there every day, and I was actually traveling every day this week, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to be at the race shop with anybody. “

Moreover, Mike Verlander, RCR’s newly appointed president as of early 2025, has stepped up to lead the organization’s operational turnaround. After Richard Childress’s frustration boilover at Dover, Mike and Childress reportedly convened multiple strategy sessions with the engineering department to pinpoint and tackle a growing performance deficit. Easily, the discussion revolved around diagnosing multiple performance deficiencies, not just at RCR but across Chevrolet’s Next Gen architecture. Key themes include refining racecar speed, tightening engineering collaboration and aligning resources across chassis, engines and setups.

Reflecting on those efforts, Rowdy shared his perspective: “So, you know, Verlander and Richard, I’m sure, had plenty of meetings with our engineering team and guys in order to try to go over a plan of like, okay, what can we do? Where are we at? What’s next? What have we improved on? What else can we improve on? And where can we fill some of these gaps that we seem to be having when we go to these racetracks? So, there’s a — it’s not one thing. There is a — word plethora.”

Kyle Busch’s 2025 season has been a tough grind. He began with a 34th-place finish at Daytona after being caught in a late wreck, then rebounded with a seventh at Atlanta and a dominant run at COTA where he led a race-high 42 laps before finishing fifth. Despite flashes of the driver he once was, camaraderie with RCR has proved no wins so far.

Through 21 races, Kyle has accumulated around 461 points, sitting roughly 15th standings and struggling through two DNFs along with average finishes hovering near the high teens, statistics that Mark shop drop from his peak years. With playoffs looming and no checkered flags inside, pressure is mounting on both Kyle and RCR to deliver.

The No. 8 driver summed up RCR’s struggles in just three words: “Yeah. Plethora of issues.” Adding “And it’s not just RCR issues either. So, um, got to figure it out.” Kyle Busch and Co. doesn’t have long to figure it out, and he has repeated his concern and has been one hundred percent honest about behind the scenes at RCR. However, another NASCAR veteran, Brad Keselowski, hints at a reunion, one on track, wanting to revive the rivalry they once shared.

“I would love to,” Brad Keselowski on reviving rivalry with Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski’s rivalry dates back to 2010, when Kyle spun Brad at Bristol, prompting Keselowski’s infamous “Kyle Busch is an a——” jab in front of the crowd. From there, tensions have flared repeatedly at Watkins Glen in 2017, Kansas and multiple playoff races where both traded aggressive moves and sharp insults. Despite brief ceasefires, neither has truly backed down, making their feud one of NASCAR’s most enduring combustible storylines.

However, those days are long gone, and it seems like Brad Keselowski misses them. In a pre-race interview, Keselowski said, “You know, he’s (Kyle Busch) got his things that he’s going through. We got the things we’re going through. I would love to rekindle that rivalry because, in my eyes, what that would mean is that we’re competing each other for wins. I always tell our people, like, you know, you have disagreements throughout the year, like you don’t get in a fight over 15th place finishes”.

Brad also seems to be in a slight slump. Keselowski’s 2025 campaign has been a rough ride so far. As of mid-July, he ranked 27th in the cup series standings with 360 points, having completed 21 races without a win or pole position. The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion has logged just two top-five and five top-10 finishes while enduring 6 DNFs and leading 81 laps total. His average start is 22.3 with an average finish of 21.8. He goes on to say, “When he’s up front, I’m not up front, vice versa. So, you know, I’d love to see that rekindled because I think it would mean we’re both running really well.”

Highlights include a runner-up at Atlanta, where he lost the win on the final lap, and a breakthrough fifth-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, his first top 10 of the season. Despite flash moments, consistency has eluded him as he battles RFK Racing’s struggles to regain form. With both the veteran driver’s playoff hopes looking bleak, it is going to be hard to rekindle the rivalry.