Unfortunate, unlucky, and disappointing are the words you can use to describe Kyle Busch’s 2024 Cup Series campaign with RCR. Ever since he started full-time racing, he won at least one race per season and had a streak of 19 years of holding this record. But, in 2024, Rowdy failed to win a single race, and thus he wasn’t able to extend this glorious streak.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on Richard Childress after the massive overhaul they’ve made on the competition side of things. After all, they would want to retain their star driver, who had been linked to a move to different teams last year. And if the tides don’t turn in their favor, Busch’s future at RCR could come into question. This was the assessment made by FOX reporter Bob Pockrass, who thinks Kyle Busch’s future at RCR could develop into a big story for the 2025 season.

Will RCR succeed in keeping hold of Kyle Busch?

If we are to go by the statistics and plain view of Rowdy’s 2024 outing, it looks like the worst season of his Cup Series career ever since his debut back in the late 2000s. However, there’s more to it as they came agonizingly close to winning a couple of races. The Daytona fall race and the Southern 500, but on both these occasions, things didn’t work out for him. Not to forget, he was part of the three-wide photo finish at Atlanta where Daniel Suarez won. So, it is a bit too harsh to suggest that the #8 RCR team couldn’t compete for wins.

On the flip side, the frustration on Rowdy’s face was evident, where he wanted more from his team. At 39, he probably has a few good years of racing left in him, and he wouldn’t want to devote that time trying to help a team stay afloat rather than compete for titles and wins. And this is what has caught Bob Pockrass’ attention towards him. “When you look at the silly season, I’m gonna look at Kyle Busch, right? And he’s the one.” Pockrass said on the Beating and Banging show.

Top 10 or top 5 finishes won’t cut it; Busch will be hoping for consistent speed from his No. 8 Chevy. And in case the struggles continue during the initial phase of the 2025 season, there will be talks about his continued run. “I mean, if they perform well off the start, you think, okay he’s gonna stay but if they struggle, what is he going to feel about how much he is going to look, and where does he end up? I think will be a big storyline especially maybe not going into Daytona but by the time you go to April or May it will be.” Pockrass added.

The team’s struggles with the Next-Gen era are obvious. Despite starting off strong with Busch, the project hasn’t gone the way of Busch or RCR. Speaking about their struggles in the era, team owner Richard Childress said, “Well, this car, Kevin, has become such an engineer-driven car and when we very first started it, I felt really good about this car. And then they kept taking the spoiler away and adding horsepower and they were doing so much to it. And now it’s so hard to pass. Before you had enough of spoiler, you could. It’s always been tough to pass. But I think the changes they’ve made have been difficult for the racing. That’s my opinion.” 

It is worth noting that Kyle Busch will be in his contract year with RCR, so the team will have to deliver the goods. Otherwise, they could be staring at the sight of a 2-time champ jumping ships to a new team after the end of this year. Meanwhile, the likes of Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman could be on the hot seat, but Pockrass isn’t worried about seats at their respective teams.

Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman will weather the storm

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Suarez was in his contract year in 2024, but an early win at Atlanta and a playoff appearance saw him bag an extension with Trackhouse Racing. Given that Ross Chastain had his fair share of troubles last year, it goes to show the Mexican driver made the most of the situation. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman himself broke a long winless streak, bagging a victory at the Chicago Street race. Had it not been for the DQ at Charlotte Roval, who knows where he could’ve finished his season?

Both of them have been on a hot seat for a long time, and this could be a theme going into 2025. However, the one thing that could come to their aid is their strong relationship with sponsors, even if they have a mediocre season. “Daniel Suarez has a pretty good relationship with sponsors, and obviously Alex Bowman does as well with Ally. So I do think the pressure is on them to perform, but they also have some support. I think financially that’s important to consider as well.” Pockrass explained.

Well, there are a lot of storylines for us to follow as the season kicks off with the Clash. But Kyle Busch and RCR’s saga is definitely going to be one to watch out for.