Kyle Busch Is Back In A Big Way
Credit: TALLADEGA, ALABAMA - APRIL 23: Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
After a trying season last year, both on track and off, Kyle Busch is back in a big way in NASCAR’s Cup Series.
It’s not like Kyle Busch ever went away, but the 2022 season was a difficult one for the two-time Cup Series champion. His fifteen year run with Joe Gibbs Racing was coming to an end, he wasn’t winning consistently and was bounced from the playoffs in the first round. Complicating matters was finding a situation and manufacturer for his truck series team.
Enter Richard Childress Racing. While the pair had their differences early in Busch’s career, they sat down, worked out a deal and with Sunday’s fortuitous victory at Talladega Speedway, Busch now has two wins in the books in the first ten races of the season.
“It means a lot obviously. Last time I won here, 15 years ago, my first year with JGR. Here we are with my first year in RCR being able to get back into Victory Lane at Talladega. It's been a little bit.
“It is really cool to welcome on a new partner of ours with McLaren Custom Grills, to score a win with them and RCR, Team Chevy, to get the Camaro in Victory Lane here, really good for us.
“We were obviously short on fuel, kind of stretching it. I don't think we would have taken that chance, I probably wouldn't have taken that chance of staying out but for the win in Fontana. That opened up our playbook, gave us a chance to be up front, restart up front and go for a win today.
“Yeah, just being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you got to be lucky. Feels good to have that. I'm sure all of you guys are going to be going to Cheddar's tomorrow for your free tender meal as I probably need to send Brexton over there, we'll get some of our own.”
Credit: TALLADEGA, ALABAMA - APRIL 23: Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Getting a second win this early in the season is huge according to Busch.
“Yeah, right. No, I mean, trust me, I think I said it in Fontana, I'll say it again: the more wins you can get, the earlier you get 'em, the better your season is going to go. The points buildup is obviously what you strive for. Winning races in the Playoffs obviously moves you through automatically to the next round. That's a good plus, you get to carry the points late in the year too.
“I've always looked at having strong starts to seasons, that kind of solidifying your base for the remainder of your season. Somebody told me this a long time ago, that any time you get to Charlotte, Coke 600, from there to the end of the season, points fluctuation, one or two spots barring something stupid happening. Three blown up motors in a row will hurt that. Other than that, the cycle of racing naturally, you'll end up about the same spot.
“I always like to be having a good, strong start to build that foundation.”
Richard Childress Racing saw a resurgence last season with Tyler Reddick putting the number 8 car in victory lane three times. With Busch replacing Reddick this season, team owner Childress says that resurgence has continued.
“I think he's helping us build RCR back to where we want to be. I have to give all the credit to Austin Dillon. He's the one that came to me, he knew Tyler was going somewhere else. He said, Pop, what do you think about bringing Kyle Busch over here?
I said, I'll talk to him if he wants to.
“We sat down, put a program together. The credit goes to Austin for bringing him on.”
It’s no secret that although he’s a unique talent, Busch can be temperamental and difficult to deal with. Especially for a crew chief. Eleven races in, crew chief Randall Burnett says having a driver like Busch has helped him raise his own game.
“It's been great. His ability speaks for itself obviously. What he knows about the cars and the strategy, just how the race plays out, what he needs in a car, all that is hugely helpful.
“I think it helps me be better, be more detailed, and really be on top of my game because he's going to challenge you if you're not.
“I think everybody on the 8 team has really stepped it up in that manner. I think it's been good so far. I think everything has been great. We have a good relationship, communicate a lot, communicate well. I think that shows.”
Eight months ago at Watkins Glen, Busch opened up to the media about how trying his situation was, not knowing who he’d be racing for in ’23 or the future of his truck series team. With the support of family and friends, and everyone at RCR, including vice-president of competition Andy Petree, Busch now has a much different mindset.
“Yeah, just having a good, strong support system. Obviously Samantha, Brexton, my family first. But then from there, having a great bunch of guys that I'm surrounded by that when Richard made comment to Randall about there being a chance I come over there, he was really pumped up about it, he was really excited about it. Petree was, as well, too. I remember Petree blowing me up for a couple weeks on phone calls.
“They didn't think that Kyle Busch was washed up or anything like that. It was really a breath of fresh air to get over there and get to work.
“Trust me, I've probably done more, worked harder in this year than I have in the last four just because of feeling like it's my duty, it's my service to them to give them everything that I've got, absolutely everything that I've got, for them sticking their neck out for me at RCR.
“We're working really hard in a lot of areas. I keep pushing these guys on some stuff. I hope that it will continue to get better as we progress through the year.
“I think next week is another big test for us as the RCR group statistically speaking at Dover was horrendous a year ago. Hopefully we can turn that around.”
While Childress says Busch is helping build back the organization to where it used to be, Busch doesn’t feel like there’s an area where he’s made the biggest impact so far.
“No, not yet. Have you watched our short track program (laughter)? It's a struggle. We're working on that.
“I've always known these guys have had a good restrictor plate program. We showed that in Daytona, we were really fast. It was fun to run as quick as we did, as good as we did with Austin to try to win that. Fontana, we were super fast there, too. They had a really good car there last year. The short track stuff has been head-scratching for sure.
“On my front and Randall's front, I know we're trying to work through what it takes to turn that around. Hopefully we can get there to make the short track stuff go our way.”
Since Reddick’s win last July at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, the number 8 car has won five of the last 29 Cup Series races. How has Burnett been able to build this team into a consistent winner?
“I mean, this 8 team, it's strong. The road crew guys, they're all racers. They've grown up racing. We've got great engineers. This team's really strong. We're really close, really connected. We've spent the last three or four years together all through Tyler's coming up through the Cup side, now with Kyle.
“Everybody's really dedicated. Everybody wants to come out and win races. Everybody works hard. They pull their weight. They take their responsibility for their part in it. It just makes a great team.
“Obviously we've been fortunate enough to have two very talented drivers. Tyler is an incredible talent. Now we got Kyle. His résumé speaks for itself.
“Just very fortunate to have those kind of caliber of drivers drive the car, and for our team to stay close-knit and work as hard as they do. It's been great.”
Now that his team is more of a player in NASCAR Cup Series than it has been in recent years, Childress looks at his team’s resurgence philosophically.
“Racing is like life: there's peaks and valleys. When you get in on a peak, it's harder to stay there. You got to be prepared when you're at the top. We've been there. We've also been in the valley, the very bottom. You got to work harder and have the right drive and emotion to put you up to the top. That's what we've worked hard to get there. It's took a long road. It's been a fun deal.”
It’s been fun for Busch, as well.
“Yeah, to us coming onboard and being a part of RCR for me this year, I've had a lot of great things so far that we've been able to work on and really show some positivity, show some good momentum in a direction that we need for success for this year. Then there's just some of the other areas where we're not really seeing the fruits of our labor yet.
“Again, we're all striving for the same thing. That's one goal, and that's to win. We want to see Austin get a win. Unfortunately he had some bum luck today. Want to get him in the Playoffs, as well, too.
“The Xfinity program has been on fire. They've been super, super strong this year. That's been fun to see.
“We just need to keep it going in the right way.”
While they never left, both Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing are, indeed, back in a big way.