There may finally be a glimmer of hope for Kyle Busch at Richard Childress Racing after a torrid two-year stretch with the team. Performance struggles left the two-time Cup Series champion looking like a shadow of his best self. Busch went winless through both 2024 and 2025, and this season did not get off to a promising start either. But over the past few weeks, Rowdy has slowly started finding his way back toward the front of the field again.

There has been a major in management at Richard Childress Racing. But when asked to give credit to someone for his return to form, he found himself in an awkward spot.

“I guess I just remembered how to drive,” he told the media ahead of the All-Star race at Dover. “It’s [Andy] Street. I don’t know what he’s doing different, you know?”

Busch was initially paired with Jim Pohlman as his crew chief for the 2026 Cup Series season. However, it was not difficult to see that the two did not have the most positive synergy. Right after Talladega, Richard Childress Racing announced Andy Street as Pohlman’s replacement.

Almost immediately, Busch improved. He had a strong pace in Texas until an incident with John Hunter Nemechek, and finished in eighth place in Watkins Glen last weekend. However, he doesn’t find himself in a different position compared to his work with Pohlman.

“I don’t feel like I’m talking to anybody any differently, I don’t feel like I’m relaying the information any differently. I just feel like it’s maybe construed or thought about in a different way, and then the execution of being able to listen to my words and be able to put it into race car translates differently,” he said.

There were noticeable differences in Busch’s mood during races under Pohlman, though. The crew chief often appeared impatient with the driver and even blurted out, “Just same [expletive] every week,” during the Bristol race.

That said, Busch still managed to secure his first top-10 finish of the season at Talladega, which turned out to be his final race with Pohlman as crew chief.

With a strong crew chief in Street, it would not be foolish to expect Busch to contend for wins again soon, either.

A big part of Busch’s success at Joe Gibbs Racing came with a strong crew chief in Adam Stevens. The two won Cup Series titles together in 2015 and 2019. Busch’s feedback was understood quickly, and the team usually made the right adjustments. That kind of connection had seemed missing at RCR over the last two years. But with Street now in the picture and Busch running closer to the front again, there are signs that the team may finally be finding that mojo.

Their first big test, though, comes at Dover on Sunday. It could draw the difference between a team that is simply competitive and one that is capable of fighting for championships.

The difference in Busch’s performance is being noticed across the garage. “I think they had a little chemistry and it’s just bled over,” his teammate Austin Dillon told the media. “Andy has a positive mindset with Kyle, and he can ask more out of Kyle, and Kyle can ask more out of him.”

But whether this slight performance improvement with the new crew chief will help Busch contend for the title is still tough to claim. He has now endured a whopping 105-race win drought, the worst stretch of his entire Cup Series career. All while he continues dominating the Truck Series, proving that it is not a skill issue, but probably RCR’s inability to develop a race-winning car.

Time and again, it has been argued that Busch needs to find himself with a stronger team if he wants to realistically contend for another title. While he is currently in the final year of his contract with Richard Childress Racing, it seems that he may not be switching anytime soon, despite hinting at a possible separation earlier this season.

Kyle Busch might continue with RCR despite a strong separation hint early in the season

Sources reported a few months ago that Kyle Busch planned to evaluate RCR’s performance during the first half of the season before deciding whether he wanted to continue racing with the team in 2027. Right off the bat, it seemed quite apparent that he would depart.

This marked one of the worst starts to a season in Busch’s entire Cup Series career, and with no signs of improvement up until Talladega, along with no indication of a contract extension, many believed that he would not continue with the team.

However, the tables seem to be turning at this point in the season.

Signing Street was also a massive decision from owner Richard Childress, showcasing how much he is willing to invest in the 41-year-old driver. But that is not the only factor, as there are also some apparent complications if Busch wants to switch teams.

The sheer lack of an available full-time seat with a more competitive team is perhaps one of the biggest issues. Busch was speculated to sign with Spire Motorsports, considering their partnership in the Truck Series. However, the team only recently signed Daniel Suarez, and it would not exactly make sense to move on from him already, especially when there is no guarantee that Busch would deliver better results.

Hendrick Motorsports, despite speculation surrounding its long-term deal with Alex Bowman, usually prefers younger talent and is reportedly keeping an eye on Corey Day, the rising O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver.

Moreover, Busch himself seems dedicated to improving the performance at RCR. “I’m full in; I’m all committed. I’ve probably never worked as much in these last four years as I did in 15 at JGR,” he said recently.

If Busch, together with Street, can rediscover his best form and compete for race wins again, it would make for a fairytale ending. Many had already written his career off. But doing that with champions is always a mistake.