Kyle Busch Has Two Races Left to Find Victory Lane, Extend Record Streak
Since moving to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2005, Kyle Busch has won at least one race every single season. For those counting at home, that's 19 consecutive seasons that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has reached victory lane, which is an all-time record. However, with just two races remaining in the 2024 season, Busch remains winless, and his legendary streak is in jeopardy of being snapped.
It's not that he hasn't been close, it's just the planets haven't aligned for the Las Vegas native through the opening 34 races of the season, which truly showcases how difficult it is to reach victory lane with the parity shown in modern NASCAR Cup Series racing.
This past weekend, Busch came home with a disappointing 31st-place finish after leading some laps early in the race but ultimately was buried deep in the field after an early-race strategy call to stay on track to gain track position didn't work out. Still, Busch was encouraged by the fight of his team to try to right the No. 8 car, which suffered in dirty air.
“I wish we could have come away with a better finish in the Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but not much went our way today," Busch explained. "The positive is that we led a few laps today. At the start of the race, we were loose in, tight in the middle, and loose off. Crew chief Randall Burnett and all the guys on the team made a ton of changes throughout the race but we never hit on a setup that worked. It’s frustrating to race in dirty air, but that's how it goes some days."
In a season where 18 different drivers have won a race, it's unfathomable to think that Busch hasn't, but that's where we stand. 34 weeks of frustration have led to two last chances for Busch to continue his record streak of seasons with a win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
While it would be easy to count Busch out, the 39-year-old has amassed five wins total between Martinsville Speedway, host of this weekend's Xfinity 500, and Phoenix Raceway, host of next weekend's NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.
There is a glimmer of hope that Busch can still find victory lane before the season is over.
"This team is determined and we have two more races left to get a win before the season is over," Busch stated.
How did we get here?
After a three-win season in 2023, I think most expected Busch and Richard Childress Racing to win early and often in their second year together. And early in the season, it truly looked like that would be the case.
Busch started the 2024 season off with a bang as he was in the mix for the win in the season-opening Daytona 500, the sport's most prestigious race which Busch has yet to win. However, a hiccup on pit road late in the event lost precious track position for Busch, and after leading 12 laps, he was relegated to a 12th-place finish.
The following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway was even more heartbreaking. Busch, who led 28 laps in the race, came off of the final turn on the final lap in a three-wide drag race with Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney for the race win. In a photo finish, Busch would officially be scored in the third position at the finish line.
In the third race of the season, Busch again led 18 laps, and looked to have a car capable of winning, but another costly mistake on pit road led to a disappointing 26th-place finish. However, the writing was on the wall, Busch was going to find victory lane on any given weekend.
Until he didn't.
Busch won the pole at Dover Motor Speedway in April, led 34 laps, but ultimately settled for a fourth-place run that day. The next race at Kansas Speedway, he again led 14 laps, and was decent, but would come home with an eighth-place run.
While Busch hadn't won, the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was trending toward a win, and he was firmly inside of the Playoff cutline. That is, until a miserable eight-race stretch from Gateway in June to the Brickyard 400 in July.
Busch suffered five DNFs in that eight-race stretch, and he plummeted well outside of the Playoff cutline. A season, which once showed promise, all of a sudden didn't anymore.
However, with his Playoff hopes on the line, Busch came to life over the final three races of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. At Michigan, he led 24 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, the following week at Daytona International Speedway, Busch had a legitimate shot at his first win of the season. But he missed out on a late-race battle with Harrison Burton, who scored his first career win. It was a devastating turn of events for Busch, and the No. 8 team, but in the regular season finale at Darlington Raceway, it seemed like everything was finally clicking for Busch.
After starting 17th, the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet found himself in the runner-up position in the closing laps with fresher tires than race leader Chase Briscoe. As Busch stalked his prey, Briscoe proved to be unflappable, and the Stewart-Haas Racing driver was able to hold off Busch for the win. Busch was runner-up for the second consecutive week.
In the Playoffs, it's been rough for Busch, but in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, it was finally Busch's time. He started third, and led 26 laps, but as the race was drawing to a close, Busch found himself in a battle with Ross Chastain for the race win.
Busch, feeling the pressure of Chastain creeping up from behind as he was attempting to lap Chase Briscoe's No. 14 car, made a misstep, and he lost control on the exit of Turn 2. Busch would spin from the race lead, and in an instant, his bid for the win was over. He would finish 19th.
In the four races following the disappointment at Kansas, Busch has struggled to flash race-winning speed. The driver of the No. 8 comes into this weekend's race at Martinsville on a seven race streak of finishing outside of the top-10.
The driver and his team will look to shake off their recent funk in an effort to pick up their first win of the season in Sunday's Xfinity 500, and if they can pull it off, Busch will extend his already record 19 consecutive seasons with a win in the NASCAR Cup Series to 20.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.