Will Kyle Busch’s Ongoing RCR Frustrations Reach a Tipping Point at Texas?

When Kyle Busch changed teams after 15 years at Joe Gibbs Racing to join Richard Childress Racing, there were many who suggested that Rowdy was going to struggle. In the first half of the season, Busch proved his doubters wrong as he took three victories. However, it seems like his doubters did have a point. Things might boil over in the upcoming 2023 NASCAR Cup Series race in Texas.

Busch has had to deal with a host of challenges in the second half of the season. Tyre issues, reliability problems, poor strategies, below-par pit stops, and just sheer bad luck, to name a few. Ever since he won at the World Wide Technology Raceway in June, Rowdy has gradually fallen off the pace. His patience is running thin with a team, with whose owner he has a rather infamous history.

Kyle Busch was left frustrated after Bristol nightmare

Kyle Busch had a torrid time behind the wheel in the final round of 16 race at Bristol which saw him finish in 20th place. The race before that, he delivered a stunning recovery drive to finish in 7th place after starting from 35th. Rowdy made it into the playoffs thanks to his victories earlier this season and through to the round of 12 on points. He finished 11th in Darlington, 7th in Kansas, and 20th in Bristol, which meant that his points haul was enough to see him through to the next round.

But as the playoff field gradually thins out, qualifying for the latter stages of the competition will be tough, especially given RCR’s misfortunes. And Kyle Busch is starting to lose patience with his team.

Earlier in the season, Busch remained calm in the face of adversity as he only said that he would be competitive if the team stopped making mistakes. But of late, that calmness has dissipated into frustration which was on display after the race at Bristol.

“We just didn’t have any front turn, any front grip in the beginning of the run, and then we didn’t have any rear grip in the later of the run so man could never just go anywhere, could never make ground,” he had said at the time and the frustration in his voice was quite evident.

Bristol was not the only place where Rowdy was frustrated. At Darlington and Kansas, the two-time Cup Series champion had to start from the back of the back after crashing in practice on both occasions. Although he delivered two commendable results despite his situation, Rowdy did not shy away from making his feelings known on Twitter.

Going into the Texas race, Busch seems to be in better spirits than he has been of late. The veteran believes that the mile-and-a-half track will suit the RCR car and play to its strengths. He also cited Tyler Reddick’s victory in an RCR car last season at Texas to explain his point.

According to WSFA, Busch said, “Yeah, I mean, to us, I feel like the mile-and-a-half stuff has kind of been a little bit more of our strong suit than the short track stuff. So I think that kind of bodes well for us. The eight-car won there last year with Tyler Reddick. So I feel like that’s kind of a bonus.”

However, if things go wrong in Texas, there is a chance that we might see the brash and aggressive Kyle Busch of old, which will surely cause a meltdown in the RCR garage. And it would not be the first time Busch and RCR have locked horns.

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Busch’s relationship with his team owner Richard Childress might be amicable now, but the two have an infamous history. Back in 2011, Busch was a racer in the Truck Series alongside the Cup. The venue was Kansas and Busch was locked in a tight battle with then-RCR driver Joey Coulter.

Rowdy was not a fan of Coulter’s aggressive racing style and gave him a nudge on track to express his displeasure. This infuriated Richard Childress beyond measure. According to reports, Childress removed his watch and handed it to his grandson Austin Dillon before confronting Busch.

On meeting Rowdy, the then-65-year-old team owner put him in a headlock and began throwing heavy punches. Busch fell to the floor, trying to defend himself from any more assault before Childress was pulled away. After the incident, he was fined a hefty sum of $150,000 by NASCAR and placed on probation for the rest of the season.

Both Busch and Childress will hope that things do not blow out of proportion any time soon. Rowdy had a good start to life with RCR and right now, he is in a slump. While the team is partly to blame for that, they will be hoping for a clean race at Texas and a good weekend for the two-time Cup Series champion.

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