“You Can’t Hide”: Kevin Harvick Warns Kyle Busch of a Race Against Time With Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy

Kyle Busch probably had his worst race of the 2024 season at NHMS last Sunday. The two-time Cup Series champion was lapped by the race leader early in the Stage 1 run and was involved in multiple wrecks. However, just before the race was about to go green with the wet weather tires, Busch parked his No. 8 Chevy on the track and called it a day. This resulted in a back-to-back DNF at a time when he was desperate in search of points to make the playoffs.

Rowdy just has seven attempts to make a huge turnaround, and even if he somehow finds the pace in his racecar, he could still end up short. Although the RCR star doesn’t need a reminder of his competition, Kevin Harvick highlighted just how tight the playoff race has turned into. And a slip-up by No. 8 from here on would be a huge blow to their aspirations of making the knockout rounds.

Kyle Busch might miss out on making the playoffs at his current pace

After the DNF at Loudon, Busch dropped out of the top 16 places and is now 20 points shy of entering back in the cut line. But the problem here is that too many drivers and teams have started to find their rhythm. The likes of Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry had solid finishes. Joey Logano has found his footing and started securing his spot. Although Bubba Wallace has fallen off, the #23 car still has decent speed.

So this puts the RCR star in a tough spot to either string consistent results or get their vital win in his favor. “Unfortunately, in the scenario that you’re in and on the Cup Series side, you’re under the microscope, and you can’t hide from it. I’ve been in these scenarios before where it doesn’t seem like you can get your head above water to be able to figure out what to do and then it starts affecting the morale of the team and creates conversations that you don’t want to have.” Harvick exclaimed this on the Happy Hour.

What’s concerning for Busch and the #8 team is that they just haven’t clicked throughout the 2024 season. Inconsistency, lack of speed, the same set-up, redundant ideas, and pit road muck-ups—it’s just been an awful show. Harvick is also worried that another surprise winner could really shake things up, and that could eventually shut the door for the Busch to make it to the playoffs.

“There’s still this mystery that happens because those points are starting to tighten up and you get another winner in there; it kicks those guys that are 15, 16 out of points, and all of a sudden drags the next guy down that’s 30 some points on top,” Harvick added. While the pressure and limelight are on the driver, questions need to be asked about RCR and its contribution to the recent woes.

Is Richard Childress Racing to blame for Rowdy’s recent slump?

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Kyle Busch, by no means, is out of his winning touch or talent. If we are to compare his 2024 run till now to that of last season, he already had three wins and 11 top-10 finishes. While the driver had his troubles adapting to the Next Gen car, he certainly was able to deliver the goods with a proper set-up and support from his team. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case this season. Rowdy has been vocal about his frustration with not being able to compete for wins.

The biggest issue for both RCR teams right now seems to be a lack of speed. Apart from that, there seem to be more problems brewing inside the RCR camp. Which, for the most part, has been kept behind closed doors. It’s just odd to see a huge change in fortunes for a driver who, for the early part of 2023, was a championship contender but is now somehow struggling to make the playoffs.

For those, who still think the driver is the problem, he has already won two Truck Series races this season. The team just saw an internal shift executive VC retiring and Austin Dillon’s former crew chief Keith Rodden taking over. So, there’s no question of him not being focused or hungry enough to compete.

Only time will tell what will become of Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing in the upcoming weeks with recent changes. At this point, it looks like only a miracle can put the driver and his team out of the ditch that they’ve fallen into.