Anticipation was sky-high as Kyle Busch prepared to swap the comfort of asphalt for the chaos of dirt in his much-anticipated Chili Bowl Nationals debut. With a career decorated with two NASCAR Cup Series titles and over 230 wins across NASCAR’s major divisions, Busch has little left to prove. But dirt racing? That’s uncharted territory. Fans wondered: could the two-time Cup champion translate his prowess to the midget car mecca of Tulsa?

As it turns out, not quite. Busch left the SageNet Center with a mixture of frustration and determination after a rollercoaster week. While his time behind the wheel was a learning experience, his performance left him far from satisfied.

A decent start, but far from the main stage

Kyle Busch’s journey through the Chili Bowl qualifiers was a tale of fleeting promise and lingering frustration. On Friday night, he started strong, charging from 7th to 2nd place in his heat race, placing him third in the overall standings with 118 passing points. But that promising start quickly gave way to disappointment as his overall results weren’t enough to secure a coveted spot in the A-Main.

Reflecting on his experience, Busch didn’t hold back. “It’s all fun and you’re supposed to have fun when you race, right?” he said. “But when you make mistakes and go backwards, then it’s a bit of a buzzkill and frustrating too, which kind of takes away from the fun. But overall, good experience, good learning. For my first time out there… definitely could be better.”

Busch’s qualifying results meant he had to fight through the lower mains on Saturday. He managed an impressive third-place finish in the F-Main, advancing to the E-Main. However, his run ended there with a 15th-place finish, far from the ultimate goal of competing in the prestigious A-Main.

Summing up his debut, Busch said, “I thought the C-Main would be respectable. Didn’t reach that. But it came from yesterday—the qualifier just not going the way we needed it to go. That would have helped us, that would have put us in probably the B today. You know, and that would have been overachieving expectations.”

Despite the result, Busch remained optimistic about the experience, noting that the lessons learned in just 40 laps would be valuable moving forward. “It was fun. It was good. It was definitely a learning experience,” he said.

While Kyle Busch‘s time on the dirt hasn’t been that productive, his son Brexton Busch has been killing it. Busch reflected on his racing endeavors outside NASCAR with his son, while competing at the Chili Bowl Nationals.

Family first: Brexton Busch steals the spotlight

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While Busch’s own performance drew attention, it was clear from the start that his primary focus at the Chili Bowl wasn’t himself—it was his 9-year-old son, Brexton. The younger Busch has been making waves in the dirt racing world, and his father couldn’t be prouder. “I guess it all just kind of came to fruition with the last two or three years running all the dirt stuff with Brexton,” Busch said. “I go to all these racetracks and all these races with him… I feel like that has kind of helped us and me understand a little bit more about the adjustments that need to give him better and his car better.”

Brexton’s budding career has become a significant part of Kyle’s own racing journey. Earlier in the month, Brexton won his first Golden Driller trophy at the Tulsa Shootout, showcasing his talent on the same stage as his father. Kyle admitted that watching Brexton race gives him more butterflies than competing in the Daytona 500. “This is more stress and more butterflies for me here than it is for the Daytona 500,” he said after Brexton’s big win.

Kyle also opened up about the balancing act between his NASCAR schedule and Brexton’s racing commitments. “I am going to work on his schedule and see if I can find any weekday races. But obviously, it’s got to fit with Brexton because he’s the primary race schedule besides my NASCAR race schedule,” he explained.

Looking ahead, Busch has a clear vision for how his career will intertwine with Brexton’s. In 2023, he shared his “ideal scenario,” saying, “In a perfect world, I would retire from Cup racing when Brexton is 15 years old, and I would go run a year of Truck… When Brexton turns 16, him and I can split that Truck where he can run the shorter track races and I can run the bigger track races.” If that plan holds, fans could see Kyle Busch racing until at least 2032.

For now, Kyle Busch is headed back to the familiar world of asphalt, gearing up for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. After a winless 2024 campaign, he’ll be looking to bounce back with Richard Childress Racing. But don’t be surprised if he ventures into the dirt racing world again—especially with Brexton leading the way.

As for his first Chili Bowl experience? It may have ended with more frustration than triumph, but knowing Busch, it’s unlikely to be his last attempt. “For my first time out there, definitely could be better,” he said. And if there’s one thing we know about Rowdy, it’s that he doesn’t settle for anything less than his best.