“You Never Know When the Last One Is”: Kyle Busch Makes Grave Admission as ‘Rowdy’ faces Cup Drought

At Dover Motor Speedway on Friday evening, Kyle Busch took a deep bow at the finish line after winning the ECOSAVE 200. It was his 69th career Truck Series victory, his record fifth at the track, and his second win of 2026 in just four Truck starts. He led 147 of 200 laps, swept both stages, and pulled away by around three seconds. It was, by every measure, a dominant performance.

But then Busch said out loud what no driver wants to admit, and it is, by far, one of the most honest reflections from a driver who has gone from being criticised about being a cup driver ‘beating up’ on Truck regulars to being criticized for being able to outshine only that field now.

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“You never know when the last one is, you know? So, I know all too well, unfortunately, with the Cup stuff,” Busch answered when asked about why ‘these moments’ winning in the Truck Series get old.’ “But it’s awesome just to be a part of Spire Motorsports,” he added.

Busch’s last Cup victory came on June 4, 2023, at World Wide Technology Raceway, which was also his third win of that season and the last of a 19-year streak of winning at least once annually. Since then, though, the drought has reached 105 races and counting, marking the longest winless run of his career.

And for context: Connor Zilisch was 16 years old the last time Busch won in Cup. Denny Hamlin, who trailed Busch by 22 career Cup wins in 2019, has closed the gap to just two. And Shane van Gisbergen, who didn’t even make his Cup debut until the 2023 Chicago Street Course race, where Busch finished behind him, has surpassed Busch’s combined Cup win total from 2021 through 2026.

In Cup, he sits 24th in the standings heading into Sunday’s All-Star Race, an improvement from the 27th when RCR pulled the trigger on a crew chief change after just ten races, replacing Jim Pohlman with longtime RCR veteran Andy Street. But that doesn’t drive away all concerns.

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While many have been quick to blame RCR in Busch’s struggles, a comparison with teammate Austin Dillon’s numbers provides some perspective.

Per DriverAverages.com, across the last 36 races, Austin Dillon is 23rd in the Cup Series in average finishing position (21.1) with 18 top-20 finishes, five top-10s, and one win. Meanwhile, Busch is stuck with a 19.1 average finishing position, 21 top 20s, six top 10s, and zero wins. Even Denny Hamlin had pointed out that Dillon seems to be faring a lot better under the same ‘dismal’ conditions than the one who is supposed to lead the team.

“You’re a Hall of Fame, Mt. Rushmore driver, carry it better than your teammate, then. If you’re the greatest, then carry it better than your teammate whose won 10 races. Find a way. I think that’s what he should be able to do, but it’s not happening. It’s time to be honest about what’s going on,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin even labeled Busch’s initial three victories with the team in 2023, saying that they came when everyone was adjusting. Now, those same drivers have pulled ahead by a lot while Busch continues to struggle.

So, the Truck series has become his place to shine. The win at Dover was his 18th win in multiple Truck races. He is also the all-time wins leader in the series, and now holds the record for most wins at Dover with 5. And perhaps, thanks to those moments, he is not ready to give up hope yet.

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Busch is still dedicated to RCR despite subpar performance

Kyle Busch’s future at RCR had been under the spotlight for a while, with rumors predicting his exit for Spire Motorsports. However, insider Jordan Bianchi believes that the partnership will stay as it is, with Busch likely to re-sign. And Busch himself has spoken on similar lines before. He now even appears satisfied with the new change within the team.

Jim Pohlman, who was Busch’s new crew chief at the start of the season, didn’t exactly have a strong synergy with the driver. Following this, right after the Talladega race (which ironically produced his best finish of the season at the time), he was replaced by Andy Street. The duo took to the track and managed to pull off another competitive finish, better than the Talladega one – a P8 at Watkins Glen.

And Busch further seems to have found some speed, suggesting the duo is clicking in the right manner. “I guess I just remembered how to drive,” Busch quipped on Friday.

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“It’s Street – I don’t know what he’s doing different. I don’t feel like I’m talking to anybody any differently. I don’t feel like I’m relaying any of the information any differently. I just feel like it’s construed or thought about in a different way, and the execution of being able to listen to my words and being able to put it into the race car translates differently.”

Early pace is one improved thing that has been pushing Busch. During All-Star practice as well, the No.8 car showed good speed, coming out as the fourth-fastest car behind Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, and Denny Hamlin. Busch even led the way in five-lap averages.

“I feel like we’ve had good speed off the truck at Watkins Glen. Texas, I was working my way into it. It’s nice to be able to score top five in practice, even though it doesn’t pay anything. It’s better than the alternative of unloading in the bottom five.”

Moreover, Kyle Busch also seems more dedicated to the team than he has ever been, perhaps because of the hard work he has put in the past seasons: “I’m full in; I’m all committed. I’ve never probably worked as much in these last four years as I did in 15 at JGR. That’s due to us needing to get better and us getting the things heading in the right direction,” he said earlier.

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But Busch still sits 66 points below the playoff cut line with the season approaching its midpoint. Missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year would make it difficult to justify another season at RCR from either side of the equation, even with the Street-era improvement.

Consistent top runs or a win, something needs to happen fast.

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