Kyle Busch had almost ended his 59-race winless streak at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix last Sunday. Leading 42 of the 95 laps, he let his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had the race in control until a crash altered everything. On Lap 78, Denny Hamlin’s No.11 Toyota hit Austin Dillon, Busch’s teammate, with locked up its tires going into dreadful “calamity corner,” Turn 6A. The No.3 Chevy stuck in the gravel trap, spun out and flew a yellow flag. And the yellow ultimately proved too costly for Rowdy.

Busch’s older tires were not able to match after the start. Christopher Bell in the Number. 20 Toyota passed Busch with five laps left to win by two laps on fresher tires. Unfortunately, the RCR star driver had to settle for P5 with William Byron, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott rounding off the top 5 spots. This was yet another race where Kyle Busch and his crew came oh so close to winning the race. And it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Busch animated and throwing jabs at his team for not delivering the goods.

But in reality, he was calm and composed and accepted that his team got beaten on strategy. “Obviously, could have been one spot better, but still not a win.” These were his comments after a P4 finish at Dover last year, obviously asking more of his team. But, he had nothing but praise for his No. 8 RCR team after a solid outing in COTA.

Busch was devastated about the tires after the race. He told PRN, “If only we had tires as good as the twenty. Once we had that yellow, you are just in defense mode.” His Lap 69 pit stop put him behind Bell’s Lap 71 stop. This was the difference as Rowdy had used up his rear tires trying to fend off his rival and could’ve been in control if not for the late race caution. Unlike last year, the RCR star was really appreciative of his team for bringing a solid race car. This change in dynamics is what could see the #8 RCR team mount a comeback charge after the disappointments of 2024, according to Jeff Burton.

“Kyle Busch having confidence that his team can give him winning race cars. He didn’t say we got beat on strategy because my guys aren’t any good. He told so on wheels; he did not claim, “I suck, I’ve lost it. ” The race car isn’t it? We got beat on tires. It’s not the race car, it wasn’t me… Think about all the chances he had last year and they weren’t able to pull off. He just got out of the car said we had a car capable of winning. I think that’s a great sign for that team and where they can go this year.” Jeff Burton said this on the Inside the Race podcast.

His winless streak follows a tough 2024 season,

Kyle Busch’s first full Cup Series year without a win since his rookie season in 2005. That ended his NASCAR-record run of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one victory. Before 2024, Busch had never gone more than 51 races without winning in Cup, a mark he hit entering Talladega in October 2024.

Busch’s post-race reaction was a complete contrast to his 2024 attitude. Back in 2024, Busch had approached Christopher Bell on pit road, pointed at him, and remarked, “You’ve smashed me a couple of times; I’m not going to let it turn third.” But this time around, he was appreciative of Bell’s style of racing and getting by him for the lead. “I’ll give Christopher credit… He ran really hard and I was a complete b—head. He did a great job working me over and just doing it the right way… So congrats to him, congrats to the 20 bunch.”

Busch has 63 Cup wins and is 39 years old but he’s not finished. The COTA race was a setback, but he is not out for good.

Kyle Busch Sends Confident Message After Strong COTA Showing

With his season-best fifth-place showing Kyle Busch has made a strong statement. Though Busch fell short of victory lane, he had controlled the field most of the day. There’s this theme of positive energy flowing around KB and his team this year. He was racing on dirt tracks, keeping himself involved with racing and the massive changes brought within RCR also seemed to be paying off. Although the #8 RCR team would’ve liked to win the race, there are more races where they can get the job done.

Following the race he tweeted, “Led the most laps and possessed the most superb automobile all day. #RowdyNation deserved that one. If we keep doing what we’re doing, it won’t be long” His certainty stems from a conviction that the present direction of the team will soon produce results. He showed his resilience in the inaugural road course meet in the 2025 season.

Rowdy was in contention for a win at Daytona but he got caught in the big one. He returned to Atlanta and went back home with a solid top 10 result. And again at COTA he was among the top contenders to claim the victory but had to settle for a top 5 result. It’s fair to say that last weekend’s race wasn’t the last time we will see Rowdy contending for race wins.