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Kyle Busch early-season struggles continuing at Martinsville: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing wrong’

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•03/30/25•

NickGeddesNews

Kyle Busch
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Kyle Busch had hope for an improved run at Martinsville after struggling over the past couple of weeks at Las Vegas and Homestead. There’s still time to see that through, but it’s not looking good for Rowdy.

Busch, who started 12th in Sunday’s Cook Out 400, is fading fast in Stage 2. Busch is back in 26th, experiencing issues with his No. 8 Chevrolet.

“Got a terminal issue I don’t know if we’ll be able to fix, but lap 20 it’s done. I don’t know how to get the front to lift. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” Busch said on his radio, via Steven Taranto of CBS Sports.

Busch hasn’t been a factor through two stages. His team got the setup wrong last week at Homestead and he finished 21st. Better was expected at Martinsville, where Busch once found success. But it’s been a different story in the Next Gen car. Busch self-admittedly has struggled to adapt to the Next Gen car, and that has shown itself at Martinsville. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has just one top 10 in six starts, with four finishes outside the top 20.

Kyle Busch’s struggles continuing at Martinsville

Again, Busch has half a race to figure it out at Martinsville. To think, the talk just weeks ago was Richard Childress Racing’s improvement. Busch started his 2025 campaign with three top 10s in his first four starts. 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. 

The inconsistency is frustrating. 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].”