“That Could Happen to Me”- Kyle Busch Refuses to Meet Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR Fate

Kevin Harvick would have had two Bill France Cups, if not for Kyle Busch’s first, at the end of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The familiar rivals’ fate seems intertwined because Rowdy now drives for the very organization Harvick failed to win a championship with in over a decade — Richard Childress Racing.

When Harvick retired he was almost 48 years old. Busch is now only 38 and rumors of retirement are already swirling. Although his career dynamics have been somewhat similar to his former rival, Rowdy has dismissed all claims of a downward trajectory while hinting at RCR’s first championship in almost three decades.

Can Kyle Busch deliver RCR’s First Title in decades?

In an interview on his YouTube channel, Kenny Wallace brought up an interesting, yet unforeseeable conversation, as he talked to Kyle Busch about being ‘off his high’ after ’like five hours’ of winning a Cup race. Kenny asked Rowdy, “Are you soaking in the winds a little bit more or is that a curse?” 

Busch had a very insightful answer for Wallace, “When you are young, and you are first winning races. Like you’re going to soak that up, you’re going to take that in. You’re going to celebrate as long as you can… But the focus turns forward and then I think as you get, you know, older and a little bit deeper into your career and you just don’t know how often they’re going to come, or when the last one is going to be. “

Putting things into proper context, he took the example of former RCR stalwart, Harvick who joined as a rookie back in 2001. He said, “So I look back at Kevin for instance, you know, where I think his last win was Richmond the year prior to last… He wasn’t able to accomplish getting into Victory Lane but he had a lot of strong runs… Just didn’t get that trophy so I know that could happen to me.” 

Clarifications came in due order and Rowdy explained, “I think it’s happened to all the greats right? Like they’ve all kind of gone into years where they haven’t won, although you mentioned it earlier. The 19 years of winning man, I want to carry that until I’m done. I want to say it’s 23, 24, 25 years of winning and that’ll never be touched. So that’s kind of where my mind’s at…”  

Nevertheless, Kyle Busch has the opportunity to overturn RCR’s fortunes by finally winning the championship, that Harvick couldn’t. And that might be another indirect mark in their legendary rivalry. 

A look back at a Legendary rivalry

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Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch’s rivalry dates back to 2011 in Homestead when Harvick wrecked Busch at the Ford 400. Two years later, in his final season for RCR, Harvick broke Busch’s four-year winning streak at Richmond. The following year, Harvick switched to Tony Stewart and Gene Haas’ cooperative race-team venture in NASCAR. Their rivalry certainly mellowed over the years. Before his final season, a statement from Harvick explains how far his relationship with Busch has evolved through the decades.

He had told NASCAR.com, “I get along great with Kyle… We’re gonna race each other and be mad at each other, but I have a good relationship with Kyle, but I can tell you that having a teammate like Kyle makes my car run faster. Because when you have all the cars running fast, they all run faster, quicker. So, I’m 100% open to having Kyle as a teammate. I think that particular instance in itself is something that I feel … I don’t even know, I have not heard one thing about it from my organization…”

Busch instead joined Harvick’s former team in 2023, winning three races in his debut season. The current season has been bleak for the driver, however, a pedigree like that can only mean better fortunes in the future.

Read More: “They Won’t Do It”—Frustrated Kyle Busch Holds NASCAR Accountable for His Miserable Fortunes