Kyle Busch addresses RCR's struggles: 'Not due to lack of effort'

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team got off to a much-needed encouraging start to the 2025 season. But then came the last two Sundays, where Busch finished 33rd and 21st at Las Vegas and Homestead, respectively.

Suddenly, momentum is gone after three top 10s at three very different racetracks. Busch’s career-long winless streak is up to 63. He last took the checkered flag June 4, 2023, at Gateway. It’s not for a lack of effort, he said Saturday.

“It’s definitely not due to lack of effort, that’s for sure,” Busch said at Martinsville Speedway, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “Everybody works very hard; I know the long hours and everything that everybody does. The only thing I can really say is, fundamentally, it’s just work smarter, not harder. I think [that] part of it has been better.

“One week at Homestead… we can’t focus [on that derailing our season].”

Kyle Busch moving past uninspiring performance at Homestead

RCR has been faster this season. Busch had one of the fastest cars at COTA and had the lead late before fading in the closing laps. He finished fifth, the best finish for an RCR driver. Busch has already led 58 laps this season.

Last week at Homestead, his team got the setup wrong. His car looks to be in much better shape for Martinsville. Busch was 12th fastest in practice and qualified 12th for the Cook Out 400. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is hoping for a better outcome at Martinsville.

“Vegas, we were fast,” Busch said. “I felt like we were legit a top-four car [and] let the race play out. Then, obviously, Homestead was a complete miss. It looked identical to last year. You could replay the 2024 and 2025 Homestead [races] and see the Hendrick cars all having some pretty good speed, the Trackhouse and RCR cars running in the back. We’re literally passing each other for 30th on the racetrack. That’s not good.

“There’s something to be said for that and I’m not exactly sure what. But now we’re here at Martinsville with a completely different package, so hopefully this will go better.”