Several drivers in the Cup garage have emerged from their drowsy slumber this year. Brad Keselowski broke a 104-race winless streak at the Darlington race. He had to bear with two years of an agonizing gap to reach this point. Similarly, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman also came out of their accident-riddled gaps that began in previous seasons.

Yet one driver is to experience a similar fate. Kyle Busch, currently the winningest driver with 231 victories across all three NASCAR series, is in dire straits with no relief so far. The Richard Childress Racing driver is wallowing in his deepest slump of 41 dry races. This situation has concerned his peers, even long-time rival Keselowski.

Kyle Busch’s plunging career draws empathy

As the RCR driver is currently in an unfortunate state, one cannot help but look back at his previous achievements. From 2007 till 2022, Kyle Busch brought glory to the Joe Gibbs Racing team in dominant fashion. He has achieved 56 race victories for the team, trumping even the active driver Denny Hamlin. When he switched to Richard Childress’ fold in 2023, he started with a roar. But the honeymoon with RCR dissolved soon, and now Busch is lagging.

During Kyle Busch’s golden years, he cultivated a feisty rivalry with Brad Keselowski. For instance, in a 2017 Xfinity race, Busch tried to blunt his rival’s momentum. But the ill-timed gesture left him hitting the wall and spinning out of control. Yet at the present moment, even Keselowski cannot help but empathize with his former rival. He said in a recent media availability for the Brickyard 400: “It’s obviously not a fun thing to experience yourself. So you do kind of look out and recognize that it’s probably not a lot of fun for him too.” 

Kyle Busch’s superb Cup Series trophy run makes him a sure shot for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Keselowski acknowledged that, while admitting that somewhere even the two-time Champion entered his phase of downfall. “The Series and the sport in general are always full of ebbs and flows. For the most part of his career, Kyle’s done a fantastic job in at least the Cup Series of avoiding those down years. You know, the law of averages eventually hits you to some degree. He’s kind of going through that now.”

Keselowski expected Kyle Busch to fall right after he departed from JGR, given his stellar run there. So the RFK Racing owner was surprised to see Busch’s wins in 2023. “I was actually surprised last year with how well they ran. I thought their year last year would look more like this year…where they won multiple races.” But eventually, Busch is going through a tough ordeal, as Keselowski continued: “I don’t have my finger on the pulse of what’s going on with this team or organization. But I know that’s not a lot of fun experience. And it’s a true test of character of how you come through that.”

And Kyle Busch is desperately trying to overcome that test every weekend. However, one thing does connect both Busch and Keselowski’s ambitions – the Daytona 500.

One of the few untouched NASCAR medals

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Both Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski have left a trailblazing legacy across their lengthy racing career. For Rowdy, the biggest distinction is beating NASCAR legend Richard Petty in the sheer number of race trophies. Many believe that Busch’s overall 231 wins trump Petty’s 200 Cup wins. Then Brad Keselowski’s 36 Cup victories include NASCAR’s crown jewel races – the marquee Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and Southern 500 events. But one premium medal of the sport has eluded both drivers for a long time.

Both of them are yet to clinch the coveted Daytona 500 trophy. Brad Keselowski never finished a Daytona 500 race better than a third but led the most laps in both 2022 (42) and 2023 (67). He expressed his wish to make it to the Victory Lane in Daytona early this year. “I would trade all the laps led for a lead on the last lap, I can tell you that. I feel like I made all the right moves and happenstance didn’t play in our favor. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it. You keep moving on and keep pushing forward.”

As for Kyle Busch, he was leading on lap 199 last year when an overtime wreck staggered his chances. Echoing Keselowski, the RCR driver has also admitted his desire to win that race. “That’s the last box to check, essentially, in my career, for the great things to do and accomplish in our sport. Been oh-so-close a few times and still continue to work on being able to get that done.”

However, Kyle Busch has a lot more on his plate at the moment other than Daytona. Unless he gets back to the front row soon, it would be hard for him to make it to the playoffs.