Despite a bleak and rather rough 2022 season, Kyle Busch is back on the podium this season with three exhilarating wins. The #8 driver must be aiming for 8 race wins this season. However, As we enter the second phase of the Cup Series, it is easier said than done as veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr compared the modern road racing scene to the 80s scenario.

Moreover, Busch‘s current run may be in danger, as his former teammate, whose 2022 slump had caused widespread rumors of his retirement, has returned to the victory lane in stunning fashion. And it has not gone unnoticed that despite trying very hard, Busch had to make way for Martin Truex Jr to pass him and win the Toyota Save Mart 350—such was Truex Jr’s speed.

The 2023 season saw a slow start for the Joe Gibbs Racing camp. Joe Gibbs himself stated the team’s obvious situation. But recent victories, especially the one in Sonoma, tell us a different tale. While Busch ended his 15-year tenure at Toyota that earned him 2 titles, shifting to the Chevy-associated Richard Childress Racing, his former JGR teammate stood his ground at the JGR camp and has snatched two wins at Dover and Sonoma.

Even as the JGR boss stated, “We don’t like racing against Kyle,” the community saw Joe Gibbs‘s secret weapon that could play a decisive role against the RCR driver at Sonoma. NASCAR veteran Dale Jr reinstated this point in his popular podcast recently.

Dale Earnhardt Jr uncovers the secret weapon in JGR camp that can stop the “Rowdy” onslaught

2022 certainly wasn’t great for KB. Out of the 36 races, the then-JGR driver could only claim 1 win while his nemesis Joey Logano took home the championship. Along with this, Busch had been having several disagreements with the Toyota camp publically. This prompted the 39-year-old to switch teams to Richard Childress Racing and so far the “bad boy” is pretty much sailing with 3 wins and 5 top-5 finishes to be at the sixth position in the points table.

While this has been Busch’s journey so far this season, his former team has found itself Busch’s kryptonite in his former teammate, Martin Truex Jr. The #19 driver had an awful last season with zero wins to his name, but he is currently at the top with 2 emphatic wins, of which one came at Sonoma where he edged out KB to rack his 4th win at the road course.

Recently, Dale Jr chimed in on this aspect of MTJ as he lauded the 42-year-old. Dale Jr was comparing the current scene to the 80s where they had certain key names that would outright dominate any road course. He said, “Truex dominates again on a road course—not a big surprise there. They were showing graphics of these guys winning road course races and it’s Truex, it’s Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch.” 

READ MORE: Kyle Busch Namedrops “Punk” Brother Kurt’s Big NASCAR Regret After He Is Inducted Into the West Coast Hall of Fame

Dale Jr further complimented his friend MTJ as he said, “I think, truly, the guys with the most wins like Truex and Elliott just have that natural ability to figure out how to get around those places that some guys just don’t possess.” While Dale Jr pointed out the Truex Jr’s natural ability to be a race leader whether it’s road course or speedways, JGR themselves have got a solid weapon at hand against their former driver, Kyle Busch.

Joe Gibbs gets real about Kyle Busch as he states the obvious

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Now, racing against a seasoned veteran may not be the easiest as Cup Series drivers are experiencing it on track. The WWT Raceway at Gateway gave Busch his 63rd career win in the series. 63rd, that’s something you don’t see often. While disagreements may have caused his departure from Toyota but there’s no question about his talent behind the wheel as the numbers themselves speak volumes.

After the road race at Sonoma, Joe Gibbs took his time to address the media about MTJ’s stellar run where he also mentioned the obvious emotion of competing against one of the fiercest contenders today. Gibbs responded to a reporter’s unique question, “What’s it like now to have to race against Kyle Busch?”

Wise old Gibbs gave a simple and resounding answer when he said, “It’s not fun, yeah, we don’t like that okay, and certainly we didn’t want that to happen,” he then stated Busch’s immense potential but then again said, “he’s a real talent got such respect for him you know and we dont like racing against Kyle, I think he’s going to win a bunch and we know it and so we got to work our guts out to try and stay in front of him,” 

With 2 wins and 5 top 5 finishes, the 42-year-old has cemented himself a solid playoff chance while his former JGR teammate remains in the sixth spot. And with many more upcoming races on the schedule, 2023 might be the most exciting season so far at least in recent times.

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