Kyle Busch Tries to Unmask the Stumbling Blocks After His Dismal Performance in the Cup Series

Was joining Richard Childress Racing the right choice for Kyle Busch? Had it been the 2023 season, the NASCAR community would have said ‘Yes!’ in unison. However, the ongoing season seems to portray a skeptical picture of that decision. The driver’s beginning to the season has been bewildering and abysmal as Busch continues to slip away in the points standing. 

As a result, one is left pondering what led to such a downfall to the 2x Cup Series champion. Whether it is driver’s skills or organizational hurdle, one is unable to pinpoint one single cause. Owing to this, the RCR driver stood to the occasion and tried to unearth the reasons behind his struggles in the season so far.

Kyle Busch emphasizes the continuous need for fresh ideas

The last time Kyle Busch parked his car in the victory lane was back in June of the 2023 season. He marked his third victory of the season on the track of the World Wide Technology Raceway and emerged as a championship favorite. However, it was not long before the driver started fading away on the tracks of NASCAR. Since then the #8 Chevrolet driver has yet to make a turnaround. With eight races over in the present season, Busch has scored two top-10 finishes. With a trajectory hitting the bottom lines, Kyle Busch tried to unmask the reasons behind his stumbling season.

Speaking to veteran NASCAR Insider Kenny Wallace on his podcast, the RCR driver stated, “The short-track stuff is definitely been our struggle and everybody nowadays relies so much on simulation but the sim stuff has kind of thrown us the wrong way and has led us down the wrong paths a couple of times. Like we went to the simulator for Richmond last year for the spring and we built a setup based around what was fast on the sim and we ran it and we ran 20th and finished 18th or something in the spring race.”

Moreover, Busch also stated that while the first visit to Richmond proved to be a tough nut, the second visit to the track bore fruits for him and his teammate Austin Dillon, as they tried to mimic their Chevrolet partner Hendrick Motorsports. However, the same results could not be translated into the 2024 Cup Series season. 

The veteran driver stated, “And we took the exact same setups from the last fall and ran again this time. We ran 20th like we were not in the ballpark. So it’s crazy that stuff like that happens. What is tried and true. Don’t screw it up dummy, just run it again and lo-and-behold, it doesn’t work. So you always got to be on the forefront of new ideas and fresh ideas and you just got to be smarter and better. So I think some of it is setup stuff. Yes, I think some of it is car built, just having the splitter in the right position, having the floor in the right position.”

Amidst this concerning performance of Kyle Busch and his team, Richard Childress Racing tried to make shuffles in team personnel of both Busch and his teammate Austin Dillon, to salvage the remaining races of the season.

Read More: NASCAR Insider Tears Apart Kyle Busch’s Worsening RCR Patch With Harsh Once Word Revelation

Richard Childress Racing undergoes personnel re-shuffling

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Whether it is the pit crew or the crew chief, it is not new that teams often make major shuffles within the team to deliver an impeccable performance on the track. Similarly, both the RCR teams underwent re-shuffling to strengthen their on-track performance.

Apart from facing hurdles during the track, Busch’s struggle on the pit road seems to intensify. Owing to this, the team underwent changes like the addition of a new jackman. On the other hand, teammate Austin Dillon also received a new crew chief ahead of the race at Martinsville. Justin Alexander, who had served as crew chief of Dillon in the past replaced, Keith Rodden who moved to a leadership position.

Speaking on the changes within the organization Andy Petree the vice president of RCR expressed, “The organizational changes were made to help Richard Childress Racing’s overall NASCAR Cup Series program as we prepare for the rest of the season and locking two teams into the NASCAR Playoffs.”

Also Read: Kyle Busch Confesses Regrets Undermining His Greatness in NASCAR

With the season under full swing, it is high time Kyle Busch and his team take account of their performance and turn the tables before it is too late into the season. Do you think they’ll be able to do it?