Is Kyle Busch in the Playoffs?

Nicknamed “Rowdy” thanks to his aggressive demeanor earlier in his career, Kyle Busch made his first appearance in the Cup Series in 2004 with Hendrick Motorsports. Over the course of his nearly 20-year career, Rowdy has raced for three teams. His longest stint was with Joe Gibbs Racing for 15 years from 2008 to 2022. The 2023 season saw him make a fresh start at Richard Childress Racing, and it’s safe to say that he’s had a mixed experience so far.

He has been a reliable man behind the wheel for whatever team he has raced. But has that level of consistency held up in the 2023 Cup Series season?

Kyle Busch’s start to the 2023 season stunned a lot of people

Many people predicted Kyle Busch to struggle in his first season at RCR, understandably so. There were doubts over whether he would make the playoffs due to the change. But Rowdy did what Rowdy does best, deliver on track. He had a blistering start to life with his new team.

In his very first race in Los Angeles, Kyle Busch earned a P3 finish. There was no doubt that it was the start of something special. It did not take the 38-year-old much longer to secure his first victory of the season.

In only the second race of the Cup Series regular season, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in California. But it wasn’t the end of his wins in 2023. Rowdy picked up his second win for RCR at the iconic Talladega Superspeedway a couple of months later. The 38-year-old won his third race of the year at Gateway Motorsports Park just over a month later to claim his third.

However, that’s not how the rest of the season unfolded. Kyle Busch’s struggles at RCR began midway through the regular season. A flurry of slew and bad decisions lost him a number of races. Mechanical issues with RCR’s car were also starting to creep up. The Indianapolis weekend was perhaps one of the most frustrating ones of his career. Rowdy finished P36 and sent out a somber tweet. The two-time Cup Series winner never won a single race in the regular season after his third of the season.

As the round of 16 of the playoffs began, Kyle Busch and RCR’s confidence and momentum had significantly reduced. He finished in the top 10 in one out of the three races but never got close to the win. Rowdy’s points carried him into the round of 12, where he earned a P3 finish in Charlotte.

Unfortunately, it was not enough to continue his playoff run as he suffered a DNF in Texas and a P25 finish at the Talladega Superspeedway. His quest for that third Cup title is over this season.

Rowdy entered the Las Vegas race with no pressure on his shoulders. He was not part of the round of 8 and all he wanted to have was a good race. And the two-time Cup Series champion promptly delivered.

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Rowdy finds his form at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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For the second race in a row, Kyle Busch finished P3. If only he had struck this kind of form a little earlier. The 38-year-old was happy with his performance but expressed his regret over taking so long to finally find his form back.

“Yeah good day for us for sure you know, back to back top 3s is definitely something to be proud of. Hate it that we’re a little late to the party but we’ve been working hard all year long and this weekend was a really good weekend for us. We unloaded strong, qualified strong, ran top 10 all day,” Rowdy said.

He might be out of the playoffs but Kyle Busch still wants to win races. Will he be able to win one more race this season? Let us know your thoughts.

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