The Next Gen era hasn’t been kind to Kyle Busch. Since 2022, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has a pair of first round exits and after failing to win a race this regular season, he’s now missed the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time in his career.
Busch is winless since June 2023 and of his 63 Cup wins, just four have come in the Next Gen era. It hasn’t been the Rowdy many expect to see week in and week out and it has Kevin Harvick sounding the alarm. Harvick said on Tuesday’s “Happy Hour” podcast that he believes Busch is having trouble adjusting to the Gen-7 car. Everything that made Busch great is no longer possible in this car, Harvick added.
“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.
“It’s a way different dynamic of what it takes to make this car go fast. You’re not building cars that are specifically built to your driving style and from an aero balance standpoint. You’ve got what you got. Every time that this 8 car is in position, it’s a spinout, a wreck, or something on pit road, or something happens that’s going on and just can’t finish the deal.”
Kyle Busch and RCR haven’t figured it out in back-to-back seasons
While Busch has kept himself calm throughout the struggles, you have to think it’s been weighing on him internally. He spent nearly two decades dominating the sport, only for this latest chapter at Richard Childress Racing to, at this point, be a disappointment.
The difference between now versus then, is Busch seems to have more fans on his side. They want to see him back in Victory Lane, as does Harvick, who knows the sport is better when Busch is competing at a high level.
“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,” Harvick said.
“Everybody wants to see Kyle Busch win, and we’re going on three years where the best he’s finished in the points is 14th. That was the worst he ever did at Joe Gibbs Racing. It hasn’t been great for the 8. … We know how important Kyle Busch is to NASCAR racing, and it’s gonna be tough.”
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