For a driver who has somewhat claimed at least one win in each of the 19 long years in the Cup Series career, failing to secure a single victory now can be harrowing. Not only for the team and the driver himself, often it takes a toll on the sentiment and the loyalty of fans. Walking into the 2025 season, all the Kyle Busch fans had great hopes for him. 

Rowdy has often been known for the kind of tactics he puts up on the track. After somewhat of a rough heat race start, Busch managed to glide through the tracks, at least with quite a few crashes. 

Busch ends up getting entangled in too many incidents

Kyle Busch’s struggles were apparent from the start of Heat 1. Even though he began on the 29th, the No. 8 Chevrolet driver never found his rhythm. This turned the 25-lap race into a frustrating struggle. On lap 6, contact with Justin Haley and Noah Gragson sent him spinning. Eventually, they brought out an early caution. Just two laps later, another tangle with Haley led to a second spin. As one could make out, Kyle Busch was not happy with the move. Frustrated, Busch tailed Haley’s car around the track. Though he managed to scrape his way into the main event, his performance fell flat. He ended with a fourth-place finish, not the best given his prowess as a driver.

The main event at Bowman Gray also did not pan out in his favor. Busch was sent spinning on Lap 21 after there was a bump by Noah Gragson. Consequently, throughout the drive, he remained outside the top 10 throughout the event. He ultimately finished 15th, a disappointing result. Just as the news of Chase Elliott winning the battle was out, fans showered their frustration on the Richard Childress driver and his frustrating tactics on the track. A detailed post that put forth all the winners and losers of the race was put out. It read, “Winners/Losers of the night:

Winners:

Elliott – pure dominance to start the season 

SVG – he can hold his own on short tracks 

Blaney – is a superstar

NASCAR – A+ event 

Losers:

Ty Gibbs – what was that performance?

Kyle Busch – not this again 🤦‍♂️ 

Erik Jones – stop playing nice”. 

Busch had shown quite confidence after the best race in his Clash race capabilities. Taking to his X account, Busch had said, “The Madhouse lived up to its name. But hey, I put it in the show. Going for my fifth-straight Clash podium tonight.” Rowdy had built a good reputation for himself when it came to the NASCAR Clash. His career spanned 18 events where he won the Clash twice. The first win came in 2012 with the Budweiser Shootout and again in the 2021 Busch Clash. His consistent performances are reflected in his average finish of 8.1, demonstrating his knack for handling the intense nature of the event. However, the Clash just did not turn out to be in his favor, and despite the confidence he had exhibited, his performance fell flat. 

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Fans react to the deplorable performance put forth by Busch

While the Bowman Gray Clash was not a point race, it was surely an opener for which fans were waiting for the longest time. The 2024 season saw Kyle Busch not making it to even one victory line, and he broke his record. Drawing a resemblance with his drive at the Clash, a fan commented, “Looks like Kyle Busch is going to suck again this year lol.” 

Another fan pointed out the deplorable performance put forth by three drivers – Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones. For most fans, Busch has kind of made his peace with not claiming a victory. The comment read, “Ty Gibbs it’s becoming clear can’t handle the Cup level. Kyle Busch has become a loser Erik Jones played nice?”

Kyle Busch’s lack of grip on the car was visible to fans. On the contrary, Chase Elliott roared throughout the tracks like a tiger. Citing the stark contrast, a fan commented, “Congrats to Kyle Busch running a car on hasbens and stale farts getting in the way so that the golden boy could win tonight from the pole! Thanks for holding down the fort for the bow ties!” Another fan commented with a fun meme that pointed out how Busch has become almost redundant on short tracks. Drawing reference to how Busch gets toppled, the comment read, “Kyle Busch at short tracks.” 

He concluded the 2024 season with a total of 766 points and barely made it to the Top 20 list, with the 20th position. Citing how he is not even going to make it to that position this year, a fan commented, “yeah kyle busch isn’t even finishing top 20 in points this season.” As the 2025 season unfolds, Busch will need a major turnaround to silence the critics and reclaim his place among NASCAR’s elite.