It’s been a disappointing year for Kyle Busch. For the first time in 20 years, ‘Rowdy’ has been winless in the NASCAR Cup Series, despite coming agonizingly close on several occasions. Ever since his 2005 rookie campaign, the Nevada native has secured at least one win every season and as many as eight in 2008 and 2018. However, the Richard Childress Racing driver has seen a massive dip in form in his second season with the team, with unflattering statistics not painting a pretty picture.

With the year almost ending, Kyle Busch will be eager for a fresh start in the NASCAR Cup Series. The No. 8 Chevy driver will look for redemption next year and return to challenging for the championship in 2025.

Kyle Busch reflects on missed opportunities in 2024

Frustrated. That’s how Kyle Busch will feel when he looks back at 2024. The 39-year-old driver could have won the season’s second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway but was forced to settle for a third-place finish after finishing 0.004 seconds behind winner Daniel Suarez. With playoffs on the horizon, Rowdy secured back-to-back runner-up results at Daytona International Speedway and Darlington Raceway, which added to his miseries. Harrison Burton overtook him in the final lap at the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 while Chase Briscoe held him off at the 2024 Cook Out Southern 500 to clinch the last postseason spot.

After winning three races in 2023, few predicted that his second year at Richard Childress Racing would go the way it did. Reflecting on his season, Kyle Busch said, “It was just not at all what we had hoped it to be after some success last year, especially early in the year having those three wins and then struggling a little bit on and off. But then this year, just seemingly not being able to get the monkey off our back. Even having a shot to win late in the day; being close at Daytona, and maybe even closer at Kansas, and not being able to pull through. We probably had a handful of opportunities that slipped out from under us. So [I] can’t say we never had an opportunity to but obviously didn’t get it done.”

Wins were not the only problem Kyle Busch was forced to deal with. Inconsistency plagued his 2024 campaign as well, which stopped him from being able to accumulate enough points to make it to the playoffs, just like Martin Truex Jr. or Ty Gibbs. With how his season played out, Rowdy missed out on the postseason for the first time since 2012, making it his worst Cup Series campaign in the last 12 years. Five early retirements didn’t help matters either, as Rowdy ended the season 20th, his joint-worst finish at NASCAR’s highest level.

Busch has spent the majority of his career at top racing teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, collecting two championships in his illustrious career. This raises the question, does Richard Childress Racing also need to take the blame for Rowdy’s underperformance? The team has made several leadership changes going into 2025, with Keith Rodden being named the team’s vice president of competition and John Klausmeier serving as technical director. Will this help the veteran driver turn his form around in 2025? Time will tell.

Busch laments his longstanding record being broken

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Few have enjoyed Kyle Busch’s level of success in the Cup Series. The Richard Childress Racing star is the winningest active driver at NASCAR’s highest level, securing 63 victories since his debut as a full-time racer in 2005. However, the sustained success he has enjoyed throughout his illustrious career finally came to an end in 2024, after he failed to win a single race for the first time in 19 seasons. It was a record the 39-year-old wasn’t happy to see ended, but the Richard Childress Racing driver offered a different perspective on it now that it has broken.

In a candid interview, Rowdy said, “I would have much rather it been — if I’m going to run six, seven more years — it last 25, 26 years, and just make it a mark that will never be achievable, right? But unfortunately, those things didn’t happen. Things changed for me a couple years ago, and I was grateful to be able to extend the streak last year and make it my own.

Busch acknowledged the difficulty of extending his streak by commending past greats for their achievements. “But honestly, for there being guys that are at 17 (years) and one guy was at 18, and now one guy at 19, it’s hard to put that many good years like that together in a row. It’s difficult.” David Pearson recorded 17 seasons with a race win from 1964 to 1980, picking up 3 Championships along the way. In second place is Richard Petty with 18 seasons, stretching from 1960 to 1977. The King collected six championships during this streak and then another title in 1979, which would be his last as he set the record for 7 Cup series championships which has only been matched by Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Atop them all stands Kyle Busch.

It will take something truly special to break Kyle Busch’s record, especially with the way NASCAR is changing. In a sport defined by fine margins, the likelihood of drivers finishing the season winless is higher as cars are becoming more competitive. There were 14 different winners in the 2024 Cup Series season, which means the era of one driver dominating the season is coming to an end. Can the veteran racer evolve with NASCAR’s ever-changing landscape and adapt his racing style accordingly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!