Kyle Busch has always been a driver who understood every inch of his car. His ability to read and analyze the machine underneath him separated him from the rest. A prime example of this was the 2014 Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. Busch led eight laps early, positioning himself as a contender. However, a pit lane speeding penalty sent him to the rear. Normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem for someone of Busch’s caliber. But something felt off.
On the radio, Busch made a bold request: “I need a whole new right front suspension.” He knew something wasn’t working, yet his team refused to make major changes. He struggled to climb through the field and finished a dismal 35th. While he failed to save his day, his knowledge about his machine was appreciated by fans and experts alike.
However, that was a different era. In the ongoing era of next-gen cars, Busch has failed to put up a show. Many struggle to understand what has gone wrong for Rowdy. Now, ahead of the upcoming Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami, Busch unveils the secret behind the difference in his post-and pre-next-gen car performances. The 39-year-old driver gives an honest verdict on his struggles by admitting the challenges.
Kyle Busch gives an honest verdict on the next-gen car
Despite his ongoing 62-race winless streak, Kyle Busch has remained competitive in 2025. He finished seventh at Atlanta, fifth at COTA, and eighth at Phoenix. At COTA, he even had a shot at victory before excessive tire wear forced him to settle for fifth. The No. 8 Chevrolet has shown flashes of speed, but something is missing. Notably, Busch has been vocal about his struggles with the Next Gen car.
Now, in a candid interview with Kevin Harvick, Busch revealed the biggest reason behind his struggles. “I’ve definitely had to take more of a backseat role in calling out adjustments. Now, I have still been able to kind of pick out like, ‘The right front is not where it needs to be in the middle of the corner.’ So, I’m still able to do those things. But for me to be able to pinpoint and tell them, ‘We got to change a spring or a shock or a bar or this or that,’ I’m out. Like, yeah, I can’t do that. A lot of times, I say things, and I’m backward,” Busch admitted on NASCAR on FOX.
Kyle Busch | Image Credits – Imago
His frustration is clear. Busch has spent years dictating adjustments down to the smallest detail. Now, he second-guesses himself. Notably, Busch’s struggles have been evident. Since the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, his results have taken a hit. Before 2022, he had amassed 59 Cup Series wins, including two championships. But in 2022, he managed just one victory and finished 13th in the standings—his worst finish since 2012.
In 2023, he decided to leave Joe Gibbs Racing to join Richard Childress Racing after some sponsorship issues with the Coach’s squad. The decision didn’t go well with him. While he had three wins in the 2023 season, he also registered six DNFs. In 2024, things went wrong as he failed to win a single race for the first time in his two-decade-long career. Now, he enters the 2025 Straight Talk Wireless 400 with a 62-race winless streak.
However, this is not the first time Busch has called out the Next Gen car. Back in 2021, before even driving the Next Gen car, Busch had criticized its design. He argued that removing teams’ ability to innovate and make adjustments was a “step in the wrong direction.” He wasn’t wrong. The car’s standardized parts and limited setup options have neutralized his greatest strength—his ability to fine-tune a car to perfection. But he is not alone in this ride.
Veteran drivers like Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. have also struggled to put up a show in the next-gen car. Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champion, had 58 wins before the Next Gen car. Since then, he managed only two in 2022 and went winless in 2023. Similarly, the 2017 Cup series champion Truex Jr. won 31 races before the Next Gen but went winless in 2022. Though he rebounded with two wins in 2023, he remained winless in 2024 before retiring from full-time racing.
The trend is clear. The Next-Gen car has leveled the playing field but at the expense of veteran knowledge and experience. Their ability to diagnose and correct car issues has been erased, leaving them searching for answers in a sport they once controlled. For Busch, this might be the biggest challenge of his career. If he can’t adapt, the winless streak will continue. And with younger, aggressive drivers rising, time isn’t on his side.
Kyle Busch recalls his ‘history’ with Carson Hocevar
While Kyle Busch struggles with the Next Gen car, he’s also dealing with a new generation of aggressive young drivers. One name that keeps popping up is Carson Hocevar. The 22-year-old has gained a reputation for his fearless driving style, and Busch is not a fan. Their latest run-in came at Atlanta earlier this season, where Busch was furious with Hocevar’s aggressive moves. But their history goes back much further.
In an interview with Harvick, Busch recalled an incident when Hocevar was just a teenager. At a super late model race in Kalamazoo, Busch was biding his time when Hocevar sideswiped him and sent him into the front stretch fence. “I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ Same thing right now. He hasn’t learned not one thing because he hasn’t been under someone’s wing this entire time,” Busch told Harvick.
Notably, Hocevar is part of a new generation of NASCAR drivers—bold, aggressive, and unwilling to back down. Busch, once the young hothead himself, now finds himself on the other side of the debate. He has called out younger drivers repeatedly for their reckless moves. But from a fan’s perspective, NASCAR needs drivers like Hocevar. He’s exciting, unpredictable, and willing to ruffle feathers. In an era where the Next Gen car has equalized performance, the personalities behind the wheel matter more than ever.
The post Disheartened Kyle Busch Forced To Take a “Backseat” as NASCAR’s Controversial Move Leaves Him and Kevin Harvick Powerless appeared first on EssentiallySports.