Kyle Busch’s challenges in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season have kept one of the sport’s biggest names out of the playoffs for a second season in a row. The Richard Childress Racing driver has not won since Gateway in June 2023, and he has only four wins since the Gen-7 car was put into play.
His aggressive style which was once beneficial to him, is costing him spins and opportunities. Busch only has a couple of top-5s and 8 top-10s so far this season. A significant drop off for the 2 time Cup champion.
2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick discussed Busch’s situation on his Happy Hour podcast and pointed to the Gen-7 car and Busch’s inability to adapt.
“I think this car has totally disrupted everything that has made Kyle Busch good,” Harvick said.
“Everything that made Kyle Busch good up until this Gen-7 car was the fact that he could drive it over the limit, save the car and he could tell you every single thing that you needed to put in the car to make it go fast. He knew the springs, he knew the shocks, he knew everything that was going on, not gonna happen in Gen-7 racing.”
That’s the root of Busch’s problem according to Harvick. In previous generations, his technical ability and feedback were advantageous. He was able to set the car to suit his aggressive nature, and drive it over the limit and win.
Now the Next Gen car is standardized. Drivers have much less control over the setup and Busch can’t tune the car to his strengths. His aggression that put him in a winning position before is now causing him to overdrive instead.
“Pushes It Over the Edge”: Kevin Harvick Explains Kyle Busch’s Struggles in Next Gen NASCAR
Harvick added that Busch’s desire to win is causing him to make mistakes.
“I think for Kyle, he’s in a position to where he knows he wants to win, and he knows everyone wants him to win, he knows he needs to win, he knows in those positions where he can win and then he pushes it over the edge.
That’s always what made Kyle Busch great was he could go a little too far and save the car. Now, he just can’t find that feel of putting himself in that position.”
This is Harvick’s harshest critique. Busch’s instincts haven’t changed, but the car has. When he goes too far today, there’s no coming back. What used to be his biggest strength is now his weakness.
Harvic is advising Busch to adjust his approach if he wants to win again. The question is can a driver who built his career on aggression and car control adapt to an era where those things don’t get you the same results?
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