2-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch hasn’t had the ideal first season with Richard Childress Racing in 2023. Signing for the outfit at the onset of this year, he had moved from Joe Gibbs Racing in the hopes of getting his third championship win. But, he can put that thought to rest until next season.

Last weekend’s race at the Roval saw the 38-year-old crashing out of contention despite finishing at a commendable P3 spot. With industry insiders and analysts huddling up in their corners to discuss the race weekend, former Cup Series champion and NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett thought it was the character of the next-gen car that hurdled Busch’s path to the round of 8.

1999 Winston Cup Champion talks about the difficulties of the next-gen car

NASCAR’s latest cars have been receiving a lot of praise for the safety improvements that have been put into place. Ryan Preece’s accident that came just a few weeks ago at Daytona was a stark reminder of the advancements that have been made. But on the other hand, there is an ongoing criticism that all the cars are so similar that it makes watching the race a boring affair!

It has always been on the checklist for NASCAR to balance safety and entertainment potential in equal measure. But worryingly, the words of Dale Jarrett appear to be sloping towards the side of the criticisers.

Talking about Kyle Busch’s shot at overtaking A.J. Allmendinger and William Byron, Jarrett talked to NBC about how it hadn’t been possible, courtesy of the Next-Gen car. Joking that he wasn’t sure if the similar speeds of the car were a positive or negative aspect, he said, “It’s just that the drivers and these cars are just so good that…

“Well, I say the cars are good, they seem to run at the same speed. I don’t know if that’s because they’re good or bad. But it makes passing difficult for these drivers and the tires didn’t mean as much as maybe we would like for that to see to where somebody could make a big run there late, but it kind of played out the way that it did.”

Though the former racer thought that the car might have potentially ruled out any chance that Busch had at the win, he also acknowledged that the driver’s crash at Texas had already sealed his fate.

Watch Story: Kyle Busch’s Roller Coaster Ride at Talladega

Kyle Busch’s continued troubles with NASCAR’s Next-Gen Car

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Back at the opener race of the playoff’s second stage at the Texas Motor Speedway, Busch had crashed into the wall and retired at the end of stage 1. Watching him drive the No. 8 car in reverse to the pit will forever remain one of the most agonizing and memorable moments from this season. In the aftermath of the wreck, he said that he had to fix his style to adapt better to the Next-Gen Car. He also felt that the crashes that he had gotten into all season were “stupid”. A week later, the driver found himself in a wreck once again at the Talladega.

Throughout this racing year, Busch has been a part of a spin or a wreck on 13 occasions and has earned himself 6 DNFs. This flurry of results certainly proves that he still has to get to know his car.

Reflecting the same thoughts, he had said to the media, as reported by apnews.com, “With me and this Next Gen car, look at how many times I’ve spun out and crashed. It’s just stupid compared to what it has been over time. I’ve still got some work to do on figuring that out. With these cars and the way the race plays out, it’s so hard to make moves and make passes and get yourself track position whenever you want it. You can’t.”

Busch’s words that came before the Roval race align with those of Dale Jarrett. Regardless, for now, his dry run at road courses will have to continue. Hopefully, Richard Childress’s driver will figure out a way to drive through this friction that he has with his car and accumulate more wins this season!

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