“We’d like to welcome Kyle back to Team Chevy, where he started his NASCAR career.” Jim Campbell, Chevrolet’s US vice president, said this about Kyle Busch back in 2022, when he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. Indeed, Busch had first wheeled a NASCAR stock car under Hendrick Motorsports before moving on to JGR. However, as he kicked off his career under Chevy, now he seems to be ending it under Chevy too, and fans are not too pleased.

By now, we are all well-versed in the tragic story of the two-time Cup Series champion. Kyle Busch has been winless for the past 69 races. Despite several sparks of progress appearing now and then, the veteran has yet to get back to Victory Lane. So the latest announcement was a dampener, albeit not too shocking.

Kyle Busch’s tenure is stretching beyond expectations

With 12 races done and dusted in the NASCAR Cup Series season, the Silly Season is shaking up. For Kyle Busch, though, nothing extraordinarily out of place is happening. The No. 8 Chevrolet driver picked up four top-ten finishes, three of which came consecutively at Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix. However, that hardly describes Rowdy, who was once used to picking up victories like berries in a garden. At the start of his RCR tenure, Busch secured three wins at Fontana, Talladega, and Gateway, but has been in a slump ever since. So when NASCAR reporter Joseph Srigley dropped the announcement that RCR “has an announcement scheduled for Saturday, May 24 at 10:30 AM ET,” people hoped for a positive update.

Some fans hoped that Kyle Busch would finally be changing his seat. On the contrary, Chevrolet will indeed retain the veteran exactly where he has been. On a recent episode of ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’, the Athletic journalist Jordan Bianchi was the guest. According to his claims, RCR Team President Mike Verlander told him that in 2026, “I don’t see Kyle racing anywhere else.” Busch is currently in his final year of contract, which includes an option. Bianchi said, “I actually think that Kyle’s future with RCR is probably going to go beyond just another year and past 2026.”

This seems like a much-awaited announcement. At the same time, however, diehard Rowdy fans cannot help but look back upon Kyle Busch‘s 232-win legacy. When Busch was under the JGR banner, he fetched 56 of his 63 Cup Series victories, besides the two championships (2015, 2019). Presently, he is far from that streak under Richard Childress’ umbrella. So, according to Jordan Bianchi, Busch may be running out of time. He said, “There isn’t really any viable options for Kyle Bush to go anywhere right now. Look at the big teams. They’ve kind of had their spots already signed up for next year.” As Kyle Busch is allegedly continuing in RCR, there is something else he might be looking forward to.

Folks, racing does not look like Kyle Busch’s priority in NASCAR anymore. It feels more like he is enjoying the atmosphere before he thinks of hanging up his helmet. But, for quite some time now, people have seen him invested in his family, social services, and most importantly, finding strategies to help his son, Brexton, become better at racing. How do we know? Well, we saw him talk to Connor Zilisch after the race at COTA.

On a podcast with Kevin Harvick, Zilisch detailed his conversation with Busch, saying, “I was talking to Kyle [Busch]… and he asked me, ‘how did you even get to this point?’ I kinda told him that karting is the best platform to grow up racing in… Make sure you let Brexton struggle… Don’t let him dominate everything,” Zilisch suggested to Rowdy. But concentrating on his son does not mean Busch can pass off his own racing endeavor! He should aim for a better team to ramp up his career again.

Well, the opinion of the NASCAR community is not too far off this mark. Yet fans also lamented about Kyle Busch’s miserable fate awaiting him at RCR.

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NASCAR fans heave a deep sigh

Well, Richard Childress Racing has not been at its best. Ever since Dale Earnhardt tragically met his end at the 2001 Daytona 500 due to a last-lap crash, RCR has never seen the championship trophy. The team came close with Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman in the 2000s. But they never managed to have the edge over Hendrick Motorsports, where Jimmie Johnson led the way with five consecutive championships (2006-2010). Given that RCR has long lost its luster, keeping a legend like Kyle Busch on the team baffled some fans. “In that case, it’s quite likely that we’ve already seen Kyle Busch’s last win,” somebody wrote in response to Busch’s contract extension. Somebody else chimed with the sentiment, claiming they would rather have seen Busch hanging up his firesuit. They wrote, “This is somehow worse than him retiring.”

A few rumors set off last year that Kyle Busch is open to offers from Hendrick Motorsports or his old team, Joe Gibbs Racing. However, they fell silent immediately after perking up. Hence, one fan lamented about his situation: “I hope it’s a short-term deal. The NextGen seems to be Kyle’s kryptonite, but even then, he has come close to a bunch of wins over the last 2 years. Put him back on a top team, and he would probably win 1-3 races per year. Unfortunately, there’s no room on a top team unless Hamlin retires or we get a surprise departure from HMS/Penske. And even then, they’d almost certainly go with someone younger.”

Somebody else drew a parallel with NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip. The three-time Cup champion raced for teams like DiGard Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and DEI, but lost his luster toward the end of his career. The fan wrote, “Where is Kyle going to go that’s better? He’s not an elite tier ride guy anymore, he’s not getting a ride at JGR or HMS. They got the best out of him and have better options if needed. There was a time in the 80s when I couldn’t imagine DW DNQing in some shit box car but it eventually happened, it happens to all of them if they hang around too long.” 

Another fan harped on the poor fate of Busch. RCR is a strong team on the Xfinity level with Jesse Love and Austin Hill, but its Cup fortunes have been drab for a long time. The fan wrote, “just fell to my knees.”

Evidently, Kyle Busch’s latest development has not been so exciting for fans. As the 2025 Cup Series season rolls ahead, we can only hope for a resurgence of the old Rowdy.