Fielding the winningest driver in NASCAR comes with challenges. Despite winning three races in the first half of 2023, Kyle Busch ran into a dead end later. The penultimate Phoenix race in the 2024 Cup Series season marked the 57th time Rowdy did not win a race. Richard Childress is doing all he can to turn his team inside out, but whatever changes he brings may not retain Busch’s patience for long.

In a recent slew of updates, fresh faces will join the RCR fold. This comes after a management shuffle hit the fold, as RCR got a new VP of competition, Richard Boswell, and a new technical director, John Klausmeier. As heartening as these updates sound, they may still not restore Busch’s former glory.

No recovery path for Kyle Busch

Richard Childress has confirmed they will field a third car on a part-time basis in 2025. Andy Street, who served as Xfinity star Austin Hill’s crew chief, will also work on the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro. They did not mention any drivers or events, although. In 2023, three different drivers – Austin Hill, Will Brown, and Ty Dillon, drove the car in six different races.

Although a development for RCR, this update does not address the root problem. Austin Dillon is on his worst two-year streak, with a lone Richmond victory as NASCAR stripped off their playoff eligibility. And as for Kyle Busch, we are no stranger to facts – despite 11 top-fives, the veteran also failed to finish 8 races.

So NASCAR expert Eric Estepp narrowed down the root problem. Kyle Busch has a sparkling resume of 231 NASCAR wins, including 63 in the Cup Series. And breaking off his 19-year streak of winning at least once in a season shows that something else may be wrong.

So Estepp said Childress’ team facilities were not up to the mark: “Yes, Busch made some mistakes, sometimes their temper got the best of him, sometimes he was pushing too hard – but he had to push hard because the equipment was not good enough… Kyle Busch had to carry most of the load and unfortunately, his now almost 40-year-old knees gave out here and there and it was a bad season.”

Rowdy’s tenure at RCR was certainly adventurous. Along with the disastrous failures, he also encountered multiple heartbreaks. For instance, he narrowly lost the Darlington win to Chase Briscoe by 0.361 seconds. So considering other opportunities is not off the table at all for Kyle Busch.

Estepp said: “2025 is the final year of Kyle Busch’s Richard Childress Racing contract… I’m doubtful Hendrick or Gibbs will have an opening for Kyle Busch next year, but never say never… He could eye another opportunity elsewhere if Richard Childress Racing is incapable of giving him competitive equipment.”

Contrary to Childress’ not-so-promising changes, other teams remain focused on turning over new leaves.

Gearing up for the next season

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Several Silly Season updates hit NASCAR recently, even though none involved Kyle Busch yet. 23XI Racing, despite the ongoing NASCAR lawsuit, is fielding a third car with Riley Herbst for 2025. All four of Stewart-Haas Racing’s drivers got rides, with the latest one being Ryan Preece at RFK Racing.

Haas Factory team, the morphed and reduced version of SHR, will field Cole Custer in the Cup Series after the latter finished 2nd in the Xfinity championship standings. Then Kaulig Racing got Ty Norris from Trackhouse – the latter has a record of building Cup Series teams into contenders. Yet the maximum upheaval may be within Spire Motorsports.

This team, founded in 2018, is now a force to reckon with. As if acquiring a $40 million charter and Kyle Busch’s Truck team was not enough, the team continues to expand.

With the 2024 Rookie of the Year, Carson Hocevar, and Michael McDowell on their grid for 2025, Spire also announced a slew of changes. Eric Estepp updated them: “Spire Motorsports is making splash after splash after splash. They got Rodney Childers, championship crew chief… they picked up Dax Gerringer from SHR as well… They got Matt McCall, race winner, proven winner going back to Ganassi, RFK.” 

Evidently, other teams are revamping their garages for bright futures. Only Kyle Busch’s future looks a bit jittery with Childress’ vague promises.