We are in the fourth year of the Next-Gen, with no hint of improvement. NASCAR’s 2022 innovation faced a fresh bout of criticism after Iowa Speedway’s fuel mileage spectacle. Brad Keselowski swept both stages of the race, and Chase Briscoe delivered a magnificent charge from the pole, yet neither could reach Victory Lane. This spurred fresh speculation in the community about the car’s long-lasting effects on drivers – namely, Kyle Busch.
The two-time Cup Series champion used to be an unbeatable force on NASCAR’s tracks. People called Kyle Busch ‘Rowdy’ as he aggressively staved off his rivals. However, those golden times fizzled out by the turn of this decade, and fans are left crestfallen.
Kyle Busch fell with NASCAR’s car
Well, the future NASCAR Hall of Famer’s miserable streak hardly needs a mention. After Kyle Busch joined Richard Childress Racing, he clinched three races at the start of 2023. Following that, he lost the initial control over NASCAR’s Next-Gen car. Presently, he is winless for 80 races. In 2024, he broke a 19-year tradition of winning at least one race a season. In 2025, Busch had sporadic success, clinching 7 top tens and 2 top fives. However, the misses have been heartbreaking. In the latest Iowa Corn 350 race, Busch could wheel from 37th place to a meager 20th-place finish.
In a recent post on Reddit, a NASCAR fan showed how William Byron has benefited the most from the Next-Gen car. “He has the second most wins in this car and has mastered probably being the best around team in terms of mastering every track style and finds creative ways to take advantage of the natural chaos of this car unlike his teammates can ironically.” At the same time, however, the fan reflected on Kyle Busch’s misery: “Busch is questionable whether it’s just the equipment, natural career/age fall off, all combined with the hard to drive next gen car.” And the misses are scattered across the season.
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
In Kansas, a track where Busch owns two victories, Busch had to start from 35th place after damage during qualifying. He could not wheel his No. 8 Chevy past 21st in the final race. During that race, Busch had a telling outburst, squarely blaming the Next-Gen car. “Unf—– believable. This car sucks so bad. Thank you, NASCAR.” Then Dover Motor Speedway is another place where Busch used to dominate, owning three victories at the Delaware track. While his efforts were completely visible about fetching a top-five, Busch could not finish past 11th. This prompted his team owner to lament, “We are in trouble.”
The fans agree as well, eager to finally find the true reason for Kyle Busch’s downfall.
NASCAR fans shake their heads
Even when William Byron ran half-throttle to save fuel, his rivals could not overtake him. This situation set off alarm bells in the NASCAR garage, with veterans calling out the Next-Gen car’s continuing faults. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also jumped into the conversation, calling the car a travesty to the sport’s tradition. And Kyle Busch occupies a huge part of that tradition – that is why his performance has dipped as well. That is what a fan agreed with: “I’d say Kyle Busch has hands down suffered the worst since changing to the next gen. I know rcr isn’t great but they were doing ok before the next gen.” Somebody else referred to Shane van Gisbergen’s advantage, as the Kiwi speedster has admitted to the Next-Gen’s similarity with his home arena’s Supercars. The fan wrote, “Benefit – SVG…Detriment – Kyle Busch.”
Others threw Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott in the same pit. Both Cup Series champions grew up racing in similar ways – racing Late Models across the country. Hence, one fan said both have borne the brunt of the Next-Gen: “Def hurt Chase and KFB bad. they both had similar driving styles.” Somebody else brought Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman into the mix as well. Larson won 10 races in 2021, and since then, has suffered the 2nd most DNFs of any other driver. Bowman’s winning streak has also suffered blows. So somebody wrote about who has been the most afflicted: “All of the Hendrick cars except Byron. And Kyle Busch.”
Chase Elliott had been one of the vocal opponents of the Next-Gen back in 2022. He brought up power steering problems and tire issues back then. His stats also took a hit after 2022, going winless in 2023 and putting up a single-win season in 2024. So one fan wrote, “Chase has suffered greatly on roadcourses.”
Clearly, the Next-Gen dilemma is plaguing Kyle Busch and his rivals. With fans and veterans clamoring for a change, we can only wait and see if NASCAR takes action or not.
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