NASCAR insiders weigh in on Kyle Busch having his swagger back

After a disappointing, winless 2024 season, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch seems to be on a mission in 2025 through the first three races of the year.

Busch has been competitive throughout the start of the season, and that was highlighted on Sunday afternoon, where he dominated most of the race at COTA in Austin, Texas. While he couldn’t hold on to the lead late, he still notched a top five finish, and it feels like the wins are coming for the No. 8 team.

During the latest episode of The Teardown after the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi evaluated Busch’s season thus far, believing he’s getting a bit of his swagger back after last season’s debacle of a campaign.

“It feels like he’s got a little bit of mojo back,” Gluck stated, regarding Busch. “It feels like he’s got a little bit of momentum. I know it’s two superspeedways and a road course, but I don’t know, it just feels like he’s got confidence. A little bit of swagger again.

“I don’t think we would’ve gone into this race going, ‘Kyle Busch is one of the favorites to win on a road course.’ We haven’t seen that in a long time.”

Meanwhile, Bianchi isn’t ready to champion Busch just yet, but he does believe the legendary driver is headed in the right direction. The next few weeks will be critical though, and he wants to see if he can continue to perform above expectations.

“I understand what you’re saying, and you’re right. We’ve talked so much about how Kyle Busch needed a strong start to the year. Richard Childress Racing needed a strong start to the year. They got it. They don’t have the wins to show for it, but they have the performance,” Bianchi responded. “Even if you take away just the superspeedways, today was a great example of this. I think it shows too, you know, you go back a year ago, Kyle almost won the Southern 500. He almost won in Atlanta. There were a couple of other places along the way where he was really competitive, and if something changes there along the way, his season takes on a whole different complexion. Playoffs, etcetera, etcetera.

“It feels like the changes that RCR touted over the offseason, they brought in a lot of outside personnel, which is really unusual for that organization. Different ideas, a 30,000-foot perspective, has really started to pay dividends. It does feel a little bit different. Go to a race track like this, and I don’t want to say dominated, but he did lead the most laps. Was in control of this race for a large portion of it. Like, this is different.

“Now, all that said, I hate to be that guy, but I have to pump the breaks a little bit. I need to see it now, with going to traditional ovals. I think this next stretch, Phoenix, Vegas, Homestead, is going to be really indicative of where RCR is, where Kyle Busch is at, and now we’re really going to have a clear understanding of who compares to who, and who’s in a good spot and who’s not. They have the ability to do that, but we have to see that. This was a great first step though.”

Regardless of Kyle Busch falling short at COTA, it’s evident the driver and his No. 8 team wanted to come out guns blazing in 2025, and they’ve accomplished that so far. Now, the next step will be to finish the job, and they’ll have a shot at getting to Victory Lane next weekend, when the Cup Series heads to Phoenix.