Kyle Busch has now gone 100 races without a win, a drought that has stretched across three seasons. His last trip to Victory Lane came in June 2023 at Gateway, in his first season with Richard Childress Racing. For half a stretch that year, it seemed he had turned back the clock. But after the regular season, the whole scene has slipped through his hands. Near-misses have piled up, undone by pit-road trouble, errors behind the wheel, and issues under the hood.
The 2025 season was a similar tale. At Circuit of the Americas, Busch led 42 laps and looked set to break through, only for tire wear to open the door for Christopher Bell in the closing laps. Busch faded to 5th. Over the course of the year, he logged three top-five finishes and ended the season 21st in the standings, his lowest mark in 19 seasons.
Those numbers might pass muster for a newcomer finding his feet, but for a driver with Busch’s caliber, they have raised eyebrows across the garage and in the stands. Voices such as Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Denny Hamlin have pointed toward the cars prepared by RCR, questioning whether the equipment has the pace to contend for wins.
As the slump drags on, the No. 8 camp finds itself at a crossroads, with fans now weighing in, offering fixes and calling for a turnaround before the slide digs in any deeper.
As Kyle Busch continues to search for a way out of his slump, fans have turned into a chorus of blunt takes, many calling for change at Richard Childress Racing.
One fan cut straight to the bone, saying, “Let Busch walk and shut down the team.”
Another pointed the finger at team owner Richard Childress, calling for a change of leadership. “Childress needs to retire at this point and see if Austin can get this team back to some degree of respectability. He’s too stuck in a time when his friend Dale was alive and winning races. I think some of us put it well that he’s the Jerry Jones of NASCAR.”
Frustration has also spilled into calls for a sale.“Sell the team to someone who will actually give a shit about running the team at a high level of competition,” another fan said, laying bare the mood around the KFB fanbase.
Some have widened the lens beyond the No. 8 car. “Need to be concerned about saving the Cup program, not just the 8 car. It has to be something with the next gen car that they can’t get their hands around. Their O’Finitywidebusch grand national cars are still competitive,” a Reddit fan noted, pointing toward a gap between series.
Others see no quick fix. “He will not win. There is nothing that can save this season. The only thing that can save his career is leaving RCR, but nothing is guaranteed after that. I’d be happy with just one more win in his career, but that won’t come with RCR.”
There are also voices that place the spotlight back on Busch himself, recalling his final stretch with Joe Gibbs Racing. “At this point, I don’t think it matters what car he is in. His season in the JGR 18 Next Gen was also very poor. The car doesn’t really seem to suit him and I’m not sure he’s at the point of his career where he’s prepared to put in the work to solve it. Which is sad because he was unbelievable in the older cars.”
Some have called for a reset in the way the team is run, with Austin Dillon named as a figure to take charge. “A complete overhaul of the culture within RCR. Start by Austin Dillon taking all decision making from Richard Childress.”
Others have pointed to deeper issues in the garage. “Outside of a random plate-track victory, no. RCR has an old-school, pseudo-blue collar mentality that doesn’t work anymore at the Cup level. It works for the NOAPS cars, but not here.
A Kaulig car (Allmendinger in the No. 16) without any Chevy support is ahead of both RCR cars in the points right now (20th vs 24th and 27th). That may say more about AJ than anything else, as Ty Dillon is 32nd in points, but the stark fact that a team unsupported by the manufacturer is beating them at this point in the season is sad. So far, RCR is about equal to Legacy Motor Club.”
Amid the noise, one suggestion looked beyond RCR altogether. A fan floated the idea of Busch moving to Hendrick Motorsports, even proposing a stint in the No. 48 currently driven by Alex Bowman: “Let him sign elsewhere before he walks away Hell let him drive the 48 for the rest of the year.”
The patience of NASCAR and Kyle Busch fans has worn thin, and the calls for change, whether at the wheel, on the pit box, or in the office, are only growing louder.
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