Has the Rowdy era come and gone? NASCAR has undergone several changes in recent years. These include the Next-Gen car’s antics and a new billion-dollar media deal. But what has stood out most is the playoff challenge. Joey Logano’s shock championship last season drummed up immense controversy, as drivers who performed better during the regular season fell through.

However, Kyle Busch was not among those drivers as he could not win a single race. The Richard Childress Racing driver is currently on a 60-race winless streak, by far the longest of his career. Despite consistent performances, Busch could not make the playoffs last year, as you need to win a race to make it in. NASCAR has received a lot of flak for this format and announced that they are actively looking to make changes heading into 2026 by talking to drivers about their thoughts on the format. Surprisingly, Kyle Busch was not one of those drivers, and he seems quite salty about it.

Kyle Busch laments about NASCAR’s nonchalance

In the wake of the rising playoff controversy, NASCAR is taking steps. It formed the NASCAR playoff committee, which held its first meeting at Daytona International Speedway. The panel had two dozen members – ranging from active and Hall of Fame racers to senior media industry officials. But a glaring absence was noticeable amidst the glitterati – Kyle Busch. The Richard Childress Racing driver is a legend of the sport – his 232 wins across NASCAR’s three tiers rival Richard Petty’s.

So the two-time Cup Series champion was not in the least shocked to be excluded from the playoff committee. During a media availability ahead of the Circuit of the Americas race, Kyle Busch clarified his upset emotions. The press asked him how many committees there are, and Busch’s answer reeked of sarcasm. “Yeah, I guess there’s 5 or 6 or 8 or 10 – I don’t even know how many committees there are…But nobody calls me to be on any of them. So I feel real honored with that. And you know, looking forward to hearing what their changes are.” 

Christopher Bell, the COTA race winner and a renowned rival of Kyle Busch, was a prominent part of the committee. NASCAR managing director of racing communications Mike Forde praised the younger driver. “NASCAR has really turned to him as a leader in the garage. I think how he handled the disappointment of Martinsville, we took notice of that. He was vocal and super candid, and I think a lot of people would probably assume that we didn’t care for that, but it’s the opposite. We met with him in January to talk about where we were with the playoffs and to invite him as part of this committee.”

Bell even spoke on the developments before the race at COTA, where he said, “So the goal for the whole thing is to help bring more legitimacy to the championship… hopefully we can get a format that provides a lot of entertainment, a lot of excitement and some amazing finishes to the championship race while upping the legitimacy of the NASCAR Cup Series championship.”

Bell is one of the rising stars in NASCAR and just became the first driver since Kevin Harvick in 2018 to win two out of the three opening races. Meanwhile, Busch seems like a giant star finally fading away into a winless black hole. Could this be the reason for NASCAR ignoring the likes of Kyle Busch while discussing a playoff revamp?

However, not all looks bleak for Kyle Busch in the 2025 Cup Series season. From a new sponsor to a fantastic race showing, the stars may finally be aligning for a grand comeback.

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Busch is confident in his pace

2024 was a season to forget for Rowdy. Kyle Busch snapped his 19-year streak of winning at least one race besides picking up 8 DNFs. Whispers of reaching his zenith filled the NASCAR garage. However, things are somewhat looking up with the turn of 2025. He picked up two wins during the Tulsa Shootout. For the Cup Series, Rebel Bourbon renewed its sponsorship with a loaded race schedule. Other sponsors like Zone and Cheddar’s also have his back. Besides, his performance at COTA was nothing short of impressive. Busch led for a race-high 42 laps, never letting William Byron and other rivals outsmart him until the last ten laps.

With 7 laps to go, Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet began to slow down and Christopher Bell took advantage of that. Busch could piece together a 5th-place finish. He said post-race: “The contact we made with [Christopher Bell] there between [Turns 2 and 3] bent the right rear, and it was a completely different race car after that. Hate it for all the guys and everybody with Rowdy Nation and [Richard Childress Racing].”

But Busch also emphasized that this is just the beginning. “We got the grit, we’re from [Welcome, North Carolina], and we’re gonna outwork anybody there is to work. The guys did a phenomenal job with the race car that we brought to the race track…Just wish we had a little bit more there at the end.”

Kyle Busch is determined to snap his long winless streak. And that grit may still be there despite NASCAR’s apparent nonchalant attitude towards him.