Kyle Busch's struggles at Richard Childress Racing are gaining the attention of drivers from NASCAR's past eras. This includes Rick Mast, who weighed in with some comments.
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The nine-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series winner spoke about the situation on the podcast Mast Cast. He said that this is the first time since Busch joined Richard Childress Racing that he has seen the "old Kyle Busch" in front of the media. By this, he meant the frustrated driver who "has had enough."
"He's a winner. He needs to be winning," Mast said. "Kyle Busch needs to be winning. Think about Kyle Busch. He was not happy after qualifying (at Martinsville). Did you see his interview? Man, he was not happy."
Mast continued and said that Busch ran poorly at Martinsville Speedway, as did teammate Austin Dillon. This is a track where Busch has scored two wins and posted top-10 finishes in 50% of his starts, but he ended the spring race in 24th place after starting 34th.
This lack of production continued a trend for Busch and the No. 8 team. This group last celebrated a win during the 2023 season, the two-time champion's first season at Richard Childress Racing.
His best finish since that win at World Wide Technology Raceway is second in the 2024 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Neither Busch nor Dillon have posted a top-10 finish this season.
"Richard (Childress) is a competitor," Mast continued. "Anybody who ever worked there knows, they'll tell you. I mean, he's eat up with being competitive.
"Something like this, the way these cars are running right now, it goes against everything about Richard Childress right now, man."
What is next for Busch as he and Richard Childress Racing navigate these struggles? The conversations are starting to take place among people who are tracking the situation.
Some have already started trying to link the active wins leader to the No. 48 at Hendrick Motorsports. Others haven't voiced an opinion about his destination, but they have expressed a belief that a split will take place at Richard Childress Racing.
Mast weighed in and said that it's too early to discuss those possibilities. Though that noise will potentially increase if the struggles continue after the off-week.
