Not long ago, Kyle Busch was the driver to beat at Richmond Raceway.
He has six wins in 39 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Virginia short track, as well as 28 top-10 finishes. His average finish at Richmond is 7.8, a great achievement made even more impressive considering that it encompasses 20 years’ worth of races.
But Busch’s most ridiculous stat at Richmond is that he has turned over 15,000 laps there in Cup and failed to complete only two laps. That is a level of sustained success that would make any racer envious.
However, Saturday night (Aug. 16) at Richmond, it was Busch’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon who stole the show. Dillon earned his second consecutive win at Richmond, and he did it without dumping the leaders on the final lap. This time, Dillon will get to keep his spot in the playoffs, which had been out of reach for him on points for a long time.
While Dillon was battling for the win, Busch had a difficult race. He started near the back of the pack and struggled with an ill-handling car. Things got even worse when he was busted for speeding on pit road, dropping him well outside the top 30. The No. 8 team did catch a break when Tyler Reddick spun on lap 181 during a green flag pit cycle, allowing Busch to get back on the lead lap.
But just before halfway, Busch turned Chase Briscoe at the entrance of turn three, setting off a crash that impacted 11 cars. The scramble to avoid the crash also caused Busch to spin Chase Elliott, who recorded his first DNF of the season. Busch himself escaped with only minor damage, but he was never able to match Dillon’s pace and had to settle for 16th.
Busch has only one path to the playoffs. He must win at Daytona International Speedway this weekend, which will not be an easy task. Busch is on an 82-race winless streak, the longest of his career and one that includes the entire 2024 season, the only season of his Cup Series career without a victory.
Winning used to come so easily for Busch, but lately, he has had few chances to reach victory lane. The only time that he has even come close in 2025 was at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) back in March. Busch led 42 of 95 laps that afternoon but got passed for the lead by Christopher Bell with six to go and faded to fifth. Busch’s only other top five this year is another fifth at the Chicago street course. Perhaps more shockingly, he has only led 20 laps all year outside of COTA.
Could Daytona be any different? Unlike Richmond, the World Center of Racing has never been a stronghold for Busch. In 40 starts, he has as many top 10s as he has DNFs (13). His only victory is in the 400-mile race back in 2008. Busch has never won the Daytona 500, and his most recent attempt ended with getting knocked out in the Big One on lap 186. Busch was critical of Joey Logano for triggering the wreck after getting checked out at the infield care center.
That being said, the current circumstances of Busch’s career are different than what he experienced during his heyday at Joe Gibbs Racing. He is with Childress now, and RCR builds fast cars for the drafting tracks. Busch found that out firsthand at Talladega Superspeedway in 2023, where he got his second win in the No. 8 car. Busch was also part of the three-wide photo finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway (now EchoPark Speedway) last year. A few more hundredths of a second would have given him a win there, would have locked him into the playoffs and would have prevented him from going winless in 2024.
Busch has also come close to winning at Daytona since joining RCR. In the 2023 Daytona 500, his first points race with the team, Busch snatched the lead with a push from Dillon with four laps to go. One lap later, a spin by Daniel Suarez back in the pack set up an overtime finish. On the restart, Busch lost the lead and his drafting help from Dillon when a big crash broke out behind the No. 8. Busch got back to fourth on the final lap, only to get swept up in another crash and lose his shot at victory.
Busch’s next two finishes at Daytona were seventh and 12th, but it was last year’s 400-mile race that proved to be another close call. With nine laps to go in the scheduled distance, Busch dodged a massive wreck that set him up to fight for the win. On lap 159, Busch narrowly missed the crash that sent Josh Berry sliding into the wall on his roof and emerged as the leader.
After a red flag and an overtime restart, Busch initially got the jump on Harrison Burton, only for Burton to come roaring back on the final lap with a push from the RCR-affiliated car of Parker Retzlaff and take the top spot. Busch tried to find a way past Burton with the checkered flag in sight, but the No. 8 team came up short again.
Even with those heartbreaks in mind, Busch and RCR must see the positives in this last race of the regular season. Busch is no longer the dominant driver on the powerhouse team that has to watch out for the unexpected at drafting tracks. Instead, a trip to Daytona is an opportunity. It is a place where the playing field will be more level than usual.
It is also a place where Busch and the No. 8 team have been very good at something very difficult – putting yourself in position to win at a drafting track. Drivers may face a lot of variables at Daytona, but a common rule still applies. If you put yourself in position enough times, you will eventually win one.
It has been a rough season for Busch. There is only one more chance to make the playoffs, and his record at Daytona is nothing compared to his record at Richmond. But as a Richard Childress Racing driver, a trip to Daytona may be just what Busch needs to save his season.
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past eight years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.