Kyle Busch is one of the most successful NASCAR Cup drivers on the circuit. Over 200-plus wins across all three of NASCAR's top three series. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer no doubt.
Even with three wins this season after making the switch from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing, Busch doesn't feel like the same driver.
Busch seems to know that his years of winning five or more races are likely behind him. That isn't due to just his age.
The Next Gen car certainly changed a lot for Busch, as he has only won in the car four times in the two years since its adoption in NASCAR. Not to mention in his final season with Gibbs he finished 13th in the standings in 2022. He looks on his way to another early exit in the round of 12 this season as well.
The biggest concern is that Busch has failed to finish six times, which is greater than his number of wins in the Next Gen car. That is something that is very rare in the No. 8 Chevrolet driver's career.
Busch attributes his problems of late to his driving style and his need to adapt to the new car. That was the point he was trying to make to motorsport.com's Jim Utter and others in the media.
Kyle Busch says he needs to have better race craft with the Next Gen car. He explains: pic.twitter.com/j9SlZ5SKNn
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 1, 2023
"I think when we've had really good cars, I've just over-tried. In 2017, 2018, whatever when we were super-fast all the time, I always think back to the golden days- you could drive from the back of the field to the front of the field. You could make something happen," Busch said. "I still feel like I can do that-I can drive from the back of the field to the front of the field. But in reality, with this car, equipment, talent and everything being so equal, the SMT data- everybody seeing it and being so equal- it's tougher than ever to pass the guy in front of you. So, I guess that's kind of been a bit of my demise, which is I don't feel like I can do as much as I want to be able to do. Me overtrying has sort of hurt my race craft, if you will, where I haven't been finishing, frankly. With me and this Next Gen car, look at how many times I have spun out and crashed. It's just stupid compared to what it has been over time."
Busch has a simple fix for fixing his issues and returning to the elite level he is used to—more patience. Kyle Busch being patient, that doesn't seem likely, that's just not him, but other drivers are having issues with the Next Gen car, so he isn't alone.
