There’s an old adage in racing that when there’s a problem with a team, that problem is usually the driver.

Not always, but most of the time. It could be a chemistry thing or a poor, disorganized pit crew or poor equipment provided by the team owner, but it isn’t necessarily always the driver’s fault that a team underperforms.

Now, say what you want, but I’m 100 percent convinced that Kyle Busch’s ongoing struggles with Richard Childress Racing are not because of him or his talent. On the contrary, while he’s tried to make the relationship with RCR work, it’s clear that the marriage is heading for divorce. No one is happy with how Busch has fared, not himself, team owner Richard Childress, or team sponsors.

Top Stories

NASCAR

NASCAR Champion Takes Himself Out of Championship Race as Sponsor Crisis Leaves Him Helpless

2 days ago

NASCAR

Kaulig Racing Makes Shocking Announcement as NASCAR Broadcaster Gets Behind the Wheel at Texas

1 day ago

NASCAR

Richard Childress Labels Kyle Busch & Co. Jealous as He Backs Cleetus McFarland’s NASCAR Journey

1 day ago

NASCAR

79-YO Historic NASCAR Track Prepares to Welcome Fans Again After Revival

2 weeks ago

NASCAR

Calls Mount for FOX to Pay $50,000 to NASCAR Driver After Major Broadcast Blunder

20 hrs ago

Busch was supposed to have moved on from RCR after last season, but Childress begged Busch to stick around for one more season so that he could serve as a mentor for RCR’s next chapter of new talent, namely Jesse Love and Austin Hill.

Busch could have – and probably should have – turned down Childress and moved on to another team. But he was a team player and agreed to help Childress work with Love and Hill at a time when Childress’ grandson, Austin Dillon, is also seeing his own racing career likely coming to an end by the conclusion of this season.

Busch turns 41 years old on May 2. He has maybe another three or four years left as a competitive Cup driver.

But that’s where the rub is. Busch has NOT been competitive for the better part of the last 2 ½-plus seasons. He comes into Sunday’s race at Bristol riding a career-worst record of 100 starts without a win. This, coming from a guy who has 63 career Cup wins (of which only three have come with RCR, back in his first season with the team in 2023).

Even worse, Busch has just eight combined top-five finishes since the start of the 2024 season — with an abominable zero top fives or top 10s thus far in this season’s first seven races (his best finish to date has been 12 at COTA).

Could Kyle break through Sunday at his winningest track?

Now, of course, much of that could dramatically change in Sunday’s Food City 500. In 41 career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway (including three dirt race starts there), Busch has eight wins around the half-mile bull ring – his most wins on any track on the Cup circuit — along with 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes.

But the Kyle of the past at Bristol is a mere shadow of the Kyle of the recent present at Bristol. With the exception of his sole win on dirt in 2022, Busch has not had a top five or top 10 since 2020 on Bristol’s concrete oval (finished second in the summer night race there).

Some say Busch will stick around in the Cup Series with some team to keep the seat warm for his son, Brexton. That’s an admirable thing, but the younger Busch is only 10 years old (turns 11 on May 18). He’s still nearly five years away from being able to make a debut on the lowest tier of NASCAR racing (Truck Series, 16 years old).

Let’s go back to RCR. Since capturing six of seven Cup championships with Dale Earnhardt – the last being in 1994 (and The Intimidator finishing second in 1995 and 2000, the season before his tragic death) – RCR’s best single-season finishes since then have been one second-place finish (Ryan Newman, 2014) and several third place finishes by both Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.

However, since Newman’s runner-up showing 12 seasons ago, the highest RCR has finished in a season has been a pair of 11th-place finishes by Austin Dillon in 2020 and 2022. Busch’s scorecard during his RCR tenure? 14 (2023), 20 (2024) and 21 (2025).

And he comes into Sunday’s race at Bristol in 24 place.

Where does Kyle go after his RCR days?

So where does the elder Busch go if this is indeed his final season at RCR? Sure, he could retire and spend all his time overseeing Brexton’s budding racing career. But Kyle is too competitive to be sidelined or watch his kid race while he doesn’t.

Here’s three options that the man they used to call “Rowdy” could potentially have going forward after his RCR days are over:

1) Spire Motorsports – This is the most logical move for Busch. Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson is Busch’s former business manager, as well as his long-time spotter. They’re a solid combination. But the problem is can Spire afford to add a fourth car, joining Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar?

Or, could Suarez be a one-and-done after this season, his first with Spire (he comes into Sunday’s race 16 in the standings), and be replaced by Busch (there’s never been confirmation in the news of how long Suarez’s contract with Spire really is, leaving many to theorize it’s only a one-year deal, which would leave the door open for Busch if that’s the case)?

If Busch were to surface at Spire, it’s likely he’d put in at least two or three more seasons in the Cup Series before finally calling it quits as an active driver. By the way, even though Busch is still winless in the Cup ranks, he has four wins in the Truck Series in the last three seasons, all while driving for Spire Motorsports. See the connection here?

2) Start own team with brother Kurt and someone potentially like Michael Andretti: Okay, this one is complete supposition, but there’s also a possibility it could happen if the stars align. Let me explain: obviously, Busch previously owned a Truck Series team. Older brother and new NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch has talked at times about possibly going halvsies with Kyle in co-owning a Cup team after both were fully retired.

Kurt is already retired and working as a consultant and coach for 23XI Racing. But even with the brothers’ combined wealth, it’s questionable if they have enough to start a new Cup team. That’s where a guy like Michael Andretti (or someone like him) potentially could come in. Andretti has previously expressed interest in buying into NASCAR, and with having to give up his share of the Cadillac Formula One team, he has plenty of financial wherewithal to back the Busch boys if they decided to go Cup racing together.

Also, let’s not forget that Kurt previously drove for Andretti when he made an attempt at doing “The Double” (the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600) in 2014.

3) Busch goes to 23XIRacing: Here’s the outlier choice. If brother Kurt isn’t ready to form a Busch Brothers team with Kyle, it would not be a big surprise if Kurt whispered in team co-owner Michael Jordan’s ear and said he should give his kid brother a chance. And since fellow 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin is a former teammate with Kyle at Joe Gibbs Racing, they always had a good relationship, so there’s good chemistry there.

But one question remains: would 23XI try to expand to four teams, or would they bring Kyle in to replace either Riley Herbst (who is currently a dismal 30th in the Cup standings and is having a miserable season performance-wise) or potentially even replace inconsistent Bubba Wallace (currently 11th heading into Bristol)?

It’s pretty clear that Kyle Busch will be done with RCR by season’s end, but what’s not clear is whether Busch is also done with NASCAR. I say “nay-nay.” He just needs another and different opportunity to bring back the “old” Kyle.

Kyle still has plenty left in his tank, and doesn’t want to finish like Jimmie Johnson

He hasn’t forgotten how to drive or how to win, but while Childress threw Busch a lifeline after Joe Gibbs’ decision to go with nepotism and his grandson Ty rather than renew the deal with the guy who brought JGR two Cup championships, Kyle still has a lot left in his personal gas tank and a lot left to prove.

He certainly does not want to end his career like Jimmie Johnson, who tied for most Cup championships with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt and won 83 races in his illustrious career – only to go winless in his last 145 (out of 701 career) starts to date.

I may be in the minority in believing Kyle Busch still has at least one more Cup championship and at least five or six more race wins in him, but I firmly believe if he is presented with any of the three above options, we’ll once again see the old Kyle resurrect himself and return several times to victory lane.