“Tried to disconnect, that’s not easy for me to do.” Kyle Busch said these words during the only off weekend in 2025 for the NASCAR Cup Series. Spending time on the beach with his wife, Samantha, and cutting a chocolate cake could not stifle the driver’s concerns. After all, Busch’s time at Richard Childress Racing has been plagued by a 67-race winless streak. However, his former teammate, Denny Hamlin, tried to pat him on the back.
The two-time Cup Series champion is no longer young. Kyle Busch turned 40 on the 2nd of May, marking over two decades of stellar racing in NASCAR. While his legacy only grows stronger in fans’ memories, Busch’s stamina at the racetrack may not. So, Denny Hamlin has a solution for him.
Denny Hamlin rolls out life advice
Like a true spokesperson of the sport, right? Denny Hamlin’s words and analyses on his podcast ‘Actions Detrimental’ are already highly respected. Yet the Joe Gibbs Racing driver may have an extra edge of expertise in this new topic, as it is regarding his old teammate. Kyle Busch used to be a JGR driver, fetching the maximum victories for Joe Gibbs – 60 wins until the end of 2022. Then, at the beginning of 2023, Busch joined a new team and a new OEM at a critical juncture of NASCAR, right after the Next-Gen car debuted. Wheeling the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, he clinched three victories in the first half of the 2023 season. But after that, the 8 team has been deafeningly silent on Victory Lane.
So, even as Kyle Busch turned 40, the nail-biting worries snowballed at the same time. As one grows older, one’s physical attributes start to evolve. Busch is no longer 16, an age when he was debarred from running a 2001 Truck Series race at California Speedway despite being the fastest in practice. So Denny Hamlin, currently 44 years old and the oldest active driver in the sport, has sound advice for the aging RCR driver. He told Frontstretch in an interview: “To me, it’s just taking care of your body more. I mean, everyone’s different, everyone’s taken different hits throughout their career. But for me, personally, my body really changed at 40 to make it…I had to do tons more maintenance.”
Jun 30, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (8) crashes into the wall during the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
What is more, the Next-Gen car may be limiting the golden potential that Kyle Busch always had. Just a decade ago, Busch overcame a broken leg and serious injury to clinch a Cup Series title. Now, he is having to deal with factors beyond his control. Despite Goodyear trying to fix the short-track racing package, NASCAR’s Next-Gen car continues to disappoint drivers. Denny Hamlin warmly spoke on Busch’s behalf, “I mean, he’s doing everything that, you know, he’s still as good of a driver as I think he’s been in the last ten years. It’s just, sometimes, you find, you get to a car that doesn’t necessarily like your style and you have to adapt.”
In addition to crucial life advice, Denny Hamlin has been concerned about another thing as well. After all, questions of retirement are sure to affect a fellow driver in his 40s.
Touting a career change
Well, Kyle Busch has accumulated a lifetime’s worth of accolades in NASCAR. Ever since his Cup Series debut in 2004, the legend has laid a glittering path of success. He has fetched 232 NASCAR national series victories so far, with record-breaking achievements. Busch is the all-time record holder in Xfinity Series wins (102) and Truck Series wins (67). Then there are his fabulous Cup Series titles (2015, 2019). These trophies can easily lead a person to think: When will Busch retire? He briefly contemplated it at the end of 2022 when he parted ways with JGR.
Yet currently, Busch intends to continue racing until his son Brexton turns 18 and we can witness father-son battles in NASCAR. He thanked his wife for making him feel younger: “I remember turning 30 and thinking that was going to be it. It is what it is. Samantha has made the best of that for me where we celebrated my birthday on that trip. I don’t feel much older than I did five, six years ago. So that’s the good part of it. And I’m in pretty decent shape, so thankful for all of that.” However, Denny Hamlin wanted Busch to switch career paths soon.
The CW’s booth at the Las Vegas Xfinity Series race this year had a special guest. Kyle Busch called the race alongside Adam Alexander and Jamie McMurray. His charismatic voice and accurate calling impressed Denny Hamlin, who craved for more. Hamlin made some bold statements: “I want to give a shout-out to Kyle Busch. What a great job. He should quit racing. I thought he was good, man. He did really well. Really, really well. I know we’ve been giving CW flowers all year, their play-by-play and how they’re meshing, but I thought Kyle blended in there really well like he has been there for quite some time.”
Clearly, Denny Hamlin is weighing the odds for his past teammate. Will Kyle Busch pay heed to his advice? Tell us what you think.
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