What looked like a dream run for Kyle Busch, compared to his last season with Joe Gibbs Racing, is slowly turning into a nightmare. Despite him racking up 3 impressive wins in the regular season, as we head past the playoff 16 eliminator in Bristol, “Rowdy” Busch is staring down the barrel, awaiting a miraculous turnaround.

Even though the 2-time Cup Series champion is perched up at the 6th spot in the rankings, 5 DNFs this season and the #8 RCR Chevy’s inability to perform consistently has cast a shadow over the driver’s championship contention.

Reflecting on his grim short-track run in Bristol where he finished in the middle, crossing the checkered 20th, he dropped some starking remarks. Apologizing to his sponsors and bashing his team’s inadequacy, Busch donned the ‘bad boy’ persona once again as he revealed the #8’s harsh reality.

Kyle Busch embraces his “Rowdy” self, doubling down on his team

The sun was shining brightly for ardent KB fans. Unlike a dull and lackluster 2022 season with his former boss Joe Gibbs at Joe Gibbs Racing where he finished 13th with just 1 win, 2023 looked like it was his year. The driver picked up 3 stellar wins in the first half of the regular season, including wins at Talladega, Auto Club, and Gateway to cruise into the playoffs.

However, inconsistency has plagued the #8 RCR team ever since then. Besides the occasional blitz, Busch hasn’t dished out anything significant. Instead, the situation became worse for Busch with back-to-back bottom-30 finishes and an early exit at the Michigan International Speedway that got him to the rock bottom.

As the playoff action zooms past the round of 16 eliminator in Bristol, it looks like Busch and his #8 Chevy are still not out of the woods, despite Richard Childress swapping his crew with the #3’s. Reflecting on his bleak run last week, Busch once again embraced his “Rowdy” self when asked about his takeaway from the race.

He simply said, “What not to do from tonight. I don’t know that was, that was a miss.”

He then stoked the fire as he mentioned his unfortunate sponsors, saying, “Just hated for our Cheddars group and everybody at ALSCO for their final race of the year being on board with us and #8 Chevy but just wasn’t a strong showing.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Busch exposes Richard Childress’ flaws as he beats his arch-nemesis Joey Logano

Busch goes on a rant against his team’s performance at Bristol

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2-time Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch’s 2023 adventure is certainly a heartbreaker for fans. Despite making a major turnaround after making his presence felt with his newfound team, Richard Childress Racing, bad luck, and inconsistency once again have the driver in a rut.

While he has comfortably made the round of 12 with enough points, the driver and his team certainly need to figure out a way to break out from the shell if they are to chase the title. Talking to the pit reporter after his Bristol run, Busch got real about the issues.

“We just didn’t have any front turn, any front grip in the beginning of the run, and then we didn’t have any rear grip in the later of the run so man could never just go anywhere, could never make ground,” said the 38-year-old.

He then stated the obvious, “Could never make passes. Just kind of felt marred in traffic most of the day and dirty air was a hindrance really bad so just but even when we had clean air we weren’t passing anybody because the team and guys in front of us had clean air too so lap times were so stagnant.”

READ MORE: Joe Gibbs’ Star Responds to Kyle Busch Adopting His Progressive Masterplan for 8-Year Old Racer Son

Do you think Busch and #8 team can back to their groove that they had during the initial season?