Despite Letting Go of NASCAR Legend, Kyle Busch Claims Richard Childress Can “Better Our Program Without Him”

Kyle Busch provided a promising debut campaign with Richard Childress Racing last year. Unfortunately, there has been a significant drop in his form, and much of it involves his team’s performance. However, a large part of it has also been Busch’s struggles with the Next Gen car. That said, as one of the masterminds behind the Next Gen Chevrolet announced their retirement from RCR, Busch feels things can turn around for the better.

That’s not to say that the #8 driver feels he couldn’t have done well as long as former executive vice president Andy Petree was still in the team. In fact, he hopes that RCR will build on everything Petree did. That said, besides his larger Next Gen car-related problems, mechanical issues have been at the heart of what’s troubling Kyle Bush right now. In the last 4 races, Busch has finished 35th thrice. While ‘Rowdy’ may manage to qualify for the playoffs, there are concerning issues that need to be addressed.

Kyle Busch looks optimistic despite Richard Childress losing Andy Petree

With eight races remaining in the regular Cup Series season, Kyle Busch is struggling to make it to the playoffs. He’s 19th in the standings, 45 points below the cutoff line. Not just ‘Rowdy’ but even Austin Dillon has struggled in the competition this season. Dillon is 197 points below the playoff cutoff, and only a miraculous victory can turn his fortune around. It is surprising, considering that both Busch and Dillon have performed well earlier. Something doesn’t seem to be right at RCR. With Kyle Busch amid his 39-race winless streak, the problem appears to be deeper than what meets the eye.

It only got more mysterious after the announcement this week. On June 25, RCR released a statement: “Long-time Richard Childress Racing competition executive Andy Petree has announced his retirement [from the team].” Safe to say, it caught many off guard. With Keith Rodden, the new interim competition director, things will be different, starting from the race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Executives stepping down in the middle of the fiscal year isn’t common in NASCAR. While it is likely that the decision came due to the poor results, it is shocking nonetheless. Speaking about Petree’s sudden departure, Kyle Busch expressed his thoughts to the media ahead of the race in Nashville. He said, “Change sometimes lends itself to an open opportunity, hopefully for the better. So, I respect the hell out of Andy and what he’s done and what he’s done in the sport and the legacy that he holds.”

Busch spent more than a year working with Andy Petree after joining RCR in 2023. Reflecting on their times together, he said, “We had a lot of fun together and some good laughs and relationships, and, hopefully, we can better our program without him there and carry on in the future.” Having first joined RCR in 1993, Petree was the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Together, they won 15 races and 7 poles, which helped Earnhardt secure his 6th and 7th (1993 and 1994) championships in the Cup Series. While Petree served RCR in two different stints, his second stint involved him in an executive vice president role.

After moving to this role, he led the team to 26 wins (9 Cup and 17 Xfinity wins) and the 2019 Xfinity Series championship. In his announcement, the legendary RCR member said, “I’m incredibly grateful to Richard Childress for the impact he has had on my career, as well as the wonderful memories and on-track success we have enjoyed together. Although my day-to-day involvement with RCR is changing, I will always be a fan and supporter of everyone in Welcome, North Carolina.”

As all good stories come to an end, so did Petree and RCR. Having said that, what will help Busch turn around his poor run in the Cup Series?

Kyle Busch reveals a simple solution to his Cup Series woes

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It has been over a year since Kyle Busch last won a race in the Cup Series. It came on June 4, 2023, in Illinois; his form in the competition since has been nothing but inconsistent. In simple terms, Richard Childress Racing hasn’t been able to provide him with an issue-free car. While speaking to The Tennessean last week, Busch discussed his struggles. In his words, “The last three weeks have definitely not helped. That’s been a huge setback.” A common rant from his end is to stop the constant issues with the car.

He said, “We just have to stop the bleeding. I think I’ve been saying that for the last six months, and it hasn’t stopped. And the last week, it’s been gushing pretty hard.” It has been either car issues or on-track wrecks that have hampered Busch’s performance. However, ‘Rowdy’ feels he can bounce back, subject to whether he gets a speedy car. He said, “Fast cars cures all. Being able to have confidence and to go out there and run hard and run fast and put myself in positions to win – that’ll certainly make a lot of gains and make everybody happy.”

With Andy Petree out of the picture, it is interesting to see if Keith Rodden and his team can provide Kyle Busch with a good car. That said, Kyle Busch will have to step up drastically if he is to qualify for the playoffs and pose a strong challenge for the championship.