When the green flag flies over Sunday’s (Sept. 7) Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, it will have been 826 days and 78 races since Kyle Busch last won a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Busch’s last win came at Gateway on June 4, 2023. It was his third win in the first 15 races of the 2023 season — his first campaign with Richard Childress Racing — and at the time, it seemed like the two-time champion wouldn’t be stopping with just three wins.
But a second-half collapse ensued for the No. 8 team, which was bounced from the playoffs in the Round of 12. Then came a winless, postseason-less 2024 season, the first winless campaign of Busch’s career, and a 2025 season that, so far, has followed the same script: no playoff berth, no wins.
But could Sunday’s race change that?
On the surface, that question seems ridiculous. Busch’s 2025 season has essentially been the same uninspired campaign that his 2024 season was. The No. 8 has rarely been in contention, and a slew of self-inflicted mistakes has left many wondering how much the future Hall of Famer has left in the tank.
On the other hand, Gateway has been one of Busch’s best tracks with NASCAR’s Next Gen car. A win on Sunday may seem unlikely given how poorly the 2025 season has gone for Busch, but it’s not at all out of the realm of possibility.
In 2022, Busch earned 11 stage points, led 66 laps and was on the front row for an overtime restart.
Joey Logano bested Busch on that afternoon, but nobody could touch the latter the following year. In a race that featured a lengthy weather delay, Busch dominated, leading 121 laps from the pole and scoring his most recent win.
Even in 2024, a year that is among the worst of Busch’s career, he had plenty of speed at Gateway. After qualifying 10th, Busch stayed inside the top 15 for most of the afternoon and was running top 10 late in stage two.
Unfortunately, that good run was ended after contact with Kyle Larson on lap 141 resulted in heavy damage for Busch, who finished 35th.
History is on Busch’s side this weekend when little else is.
Of course, that doesn’t mean much unless Busch and the No. 8 team execute. The No. 8 must unload fast off the truck for practice and qualifying, and Busch must avoid the self-inflicted mistakes that have bitten him several times this year.
But should Busch qualify inside the top 15 and keep his car clean, history shows that he should have the opportunity to race up front. Sunday’s race is, of course, the second race of the NASCAR playoffs, but Busch appears has the best chance of any non-playoff driver to steal headlines.
Perhaps the factor working in Busch’s favor the most is motivation. You’d be hard-pressed to find a driver as competitive and fiery in the garage area as Busch, and whether it’s conveyed through the camera or not, the 63-time Cup winner has to be frustrated with his recent lack of success.
If Busch is in contention on Sunday, you have to think that he won’t let the opportunity pass him by. At this point in his career, the 40-year-old Busch has to know that winning opportunities are growing more sparse by the day. In addition to trying to snap the longest drought of his career, Busch could be racing for his last win on any given weekend; as it’s often said, you never know when it’s your last.
When the chips are down at the 1.25-mile track, Busch may or may not be in the mix for the win. But if he is, you can bet that he’ll give it everything he’s got in order to get back to victory lane, and Sunday’s race may be his best chance to win before he officially suffers through a pair of winless seasons.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.