“Going to Need a Waiver”- Racing Community Fires Shots at Kyle Busch Amidst Inability to Shrug Off ‘Once-Great’ Tag

Kyle Busch hasn’t been having the best week…or should we say the best season! The once-great driver hasn’t yet made it to the playoffs. He sits in 17th place in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, following the lead by 186 points. His two best finishes are one at Atlanta, where he finished third, and at Dover, where he finished fourth. At Gateway he had a good chance of making it, but he was on the outs! And now with him crashing even at a tire test — do we sniff a downfall? 

Moreover, fans are livid, scratching their heads with just one question. What is going on with Kyle Busch? How did this championship winner end up at the spot where has not even won this season and is crashing at tire tests?

What is going on with Kyle Busch? 

Kyle Busch was supposed to participate in tire testing at Indy today alongside Denny Hamlin and Todd Gilliand. However, things took a turn for the worse as he ended up crashing here as well!

Toby Christie reposted pictures from a Twitter user named Rexton Kemp that showed Busch’s No. 8 car being towed off the track following a Goodyear Tire test. From the pictures, it appears like Busch struck a wall. It’s almost a case of déjà vu because this is the second time he has crashed in a week! At Gateway, Busch was fighting Larson for seventh, but on the last lap of the second stage, they made contact. Larson spun and hit his car, sending him ramming into the wall. And while Larson didn’t have to call it a day, Busch sure did.

And now, as per the latest update, the #8 driver, who was supposed to participate in another tire test on Wednesday, won’t be back, as per his spokesperson confirmed.

But his recent debacle also points a grim picture about his form. The two-time cup champion is winless in the last 36 races. And given that he finished outside the top 25 in three of the last six races, the battle for the playoff seems tough for him.

Once a force to be reckoned with, Busch now faces pressure and scrutiny from fans. Will the Richard Childress Racing driver be able to reclaim his throne as the pinnacle of racing, or will he be forever marked with the label of “once-great”?

Fans scratching their heads over Kyle Busch’s lackluster performances 

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Kyle Busch has been in the sport for the longest time now, winning multiple championships and amassing over 63 Cup wins. He ranks ninth on the all-time wins list and has 231 victories in all three NASCAR national series. Hence his recent form has evidently concerned the NASCAR community. One fan tagged him on Twitter and said, “@KyleBusch I love you brother, but what’s going on”? 

Another fan also pointed out how Kyle Busch might be overstaying his welcome. They wrote, “It’s sad watching once-great athletes stick around too long….” suggesting that perhaps it’s time for Busch to consider retirement before his legacy is further tarnished!

We all know the Larson waiver incident by now, where he was granted a waiver for not making it at the Charlotte point paying race. Drawing from that situation, a fan humorously remarked, “Is he [Busch] going to need a waiver,” highlighting Kyle Busch’s recent struggles and him maybe needing a rescue to make it to the Round of 16.

One community member even highlighted, “Crashing in a test at Indianapolis of all places is the last thing I expected Kyle Busch to do.” And the sentiment is perhaps understandable. Busch is the all-time record-holder for wins in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (66). Additionally, he also is the 2009 Xfinity Series champion. Hence, the last thing one could expect was his crash at a tire test. 

Another X user also took shots at him while pointing out it might not be the Next Gen car’s fault. “This is getting harder to watch. I know he blames the cars but there’s gotta be something going on with him,” the tweet read. Notably, Busch has been an open critic of the Next Gen cars, aiming his displeasure toward it, whenever he gets a chance. 

“I feel like I’m fighting many more balance issues. And on top of fighting those balance issues by yourself, throw in the aero deficiencies that you have in traffic and now you’re just confused. You think that you’re going to expect it to do one thing, and it does something else and you lose a tenth of a second because you’re trying to garner that feel of what it is,” the driver had opined at the Darlington Raceway this year.

While we don’t know what’s wrong with him, he still has time to redeem himself. Do you think he’ll be able to do it?