When Kyle Busch became a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver in 2005, he earned the first of 63 wins over the course of 19 years.
Some seasons, Busch won eight races. Other years, he only had one triumph. But for 19 straight seasons, Busch recorded a win in the stat column, setting a new record for most consecutive seasons with a win.
In 2024, however, Busch failed to record a Cup win, ending the streak and marking the first time ever that Busch did not reach victory lane over the course of the season. Not only did Busch go winless in 2024, he also had his worst average finish (18.3) since that rookie season (21).
Based on the eye test alone, Busch didn’t seem to have the same type of race-winning speed from past years. Even in 2023, Busch had race-contending and -winning speed on a couple of occasions.
Richard Childress Racing as a whole remained a mid-pack team at best (outside of Richmond Raceway in the summer), but in a season when 18 different drivers visited victory lane, Busch had – and missed – quite a few opportunities to extend his streak.
Busch led laps in each of the first three races in 2024. While he survived the Big One in the Daytona 500, a bad decision to jump out of line sent Busch to the back of the remaining contenders just before the white flag.
In 2023, Busch ended questions about his winning streak in just the second race, winning at Auto Club Speedway. He almost repeated that feat this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Though the No. 8 crossed the stripe in a photo finish, Busch wound up third in the fantastic three-wide thriller.
Taking another look at the three-wide finish between Daniel Suárez, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney at Atlanta:
(Chills) pic.twitter.com/JmAJyNUUNK
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 26, 2024
The abbreviated West Coast swing really gave a preview to what the rest of Busch’s season would look like. Both RCR and the No. 8 actually had some speed in Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but a pit road penalty in the final stage relegated Busch to the back half of the field. At Phoenix Raceway, however, Busch went for a spin at one point, and he hovered around the mid-20s for the majority of the race.
A Bristol master, Busch could not decipher the mysterious tire issues that plagued the majority of the field, bringing out two cautions, and finishing 25th. The following week, Busch drove to a top 10 at Circuit of the Americas.
Kyle Busch is entertaining, even with…
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