Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott had 'long conversations' about adapting to Next Gen car

Since the Next Gen car was introduced there have been a few drivers that have had struggles adapting. Kyle Busch included. He isn’t the only one in the NASCAR garage, either.

Kyle Busch has not been winning like he was in the old cars. Things are harder. The style of racing has changed. For Busch and Chase Elliott, that is a problem they have had to overcome.

Speaking to Kevin Harvick in a one-on-one interview, Busch opened up about those struggles. He even brought up Elliott.

“I’ve had some long conversations with Chase Elliott because we grew up the same way,” Busch admitted. “Like, racing super late models across the country and those style of cars. And I’m like, ‘Man, have you found this thing to just be a beast? Like a challenge?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve had to change my driving style.’ Just like what you just said. I’m like, I don’t know how to do that. I have a feel that I’m looking for and when we get that feel I can have the same feel as the old car and be fast with it, but dude, trying to find that is like a needle in a haystack.”

In the first year of the Next Gen car in 2022, Chase Elliott won five races. Kyle Busch won three races in 2023. Besides those multi-win seasons, both drivers have a single-win season and a winless season in this car.

Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott having similar seasons early

Now, the points do not add up, but there are similarities between Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott this season. They both have three top-10 finishes, including one top-five finish each. But there is a big discrepancy in other stats.

For starters, Elliott has no DNFs this season. He also has a season-worst finish of only P20. Those top-20 finishes add up when it comes to points over the course of 26 regular-season races.

55 points is the difference between Elliott in 4th overall and Busch in 17th. But Busch has led 58 laps this season to Elliott’s 2. That is a big concern for me as far as the top-end speed of the No. 9 team is concerned.

Kyle Busch was hurt by a DNF at Daytona and a P33 finish at Las Vegas. He picked up only four points in both of those races. In his other three races, Busch is averaging 35 points each outing. We’ll see whose stats end up averaging out for the best as the season continues.