It seemed unthinkable a few years ago that NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin would ever catch up to Kyle Busch for victories in the Cup Series. Now, the two future Hall of Famers are neck and neck on the leaderboard, with Hamlin weighing in on his peer’s two-year-long struggles.
On the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin spent a significant portion of the podcast talking about Busch’s two-year victory drought in the Cup Series and his woes with Richard Childress Racing. While many fans are quick to blame RCR and believe Busch will recapture his former glory next season with a new team, Hamlin is a lot more skeptical.
“If you’re expecting Kyle Busch to just go back to victory lane on a regular basis, you are kidding yourself or you’re going to be very disappointed.”
Denny Hamlin on NASCAR fans who still expect Kyle Busch to return to glory
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Many in Rowdy Nation have been very critical of the lack of great support provided to Busch at RCR, with the No. 8 team and the car itself often cited as part of the reason for the victory drought. However, it’s worth comparing Busch to one of his own RCR teammates.
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Across the last 36 races, per DriverAverages.com, Austin Dillon ranks 23rd in the Cup Series in average finishing position (21.1) with 18 top-20 finishes, five top-10s and one win. In that same span, Busch hasn’t been much better with a 19.1 average finishing position, 21 top 20s, six top 10s and zero wins. As Hamlin also pointed out, Dillon seems to handle the situation a lot better than the future Hall of Famer who is supposed to be a leader for the team.
“You’re a Hall of Fame, Mt. Rushmore driver, carry it better than your teammate, then. If you’re the greatest, then carry it better than your teammate whose won 10 races. Find a way. I think that’s what he should be able to do, but it’s not happening. It’s time to be honest about what’s going on.”
Denny Hamlin on Kyle Busch’s situation with Richard Childress Racing,
Related: Kyle Busch Winless Streak, Things That Happened Before and Since Win
Others have pointed to NASCAR’s move to the Next Gen car to explain Busch’s struggles. Hamlin agrees that his former teammate has struggled with the new car, largely being unable to learn how to get better speeds out of it more consistently.
There’ve also been some who have highlighted Busch’s three wins in the 2023 season with RCR. Hamlin notes, however, those victories came in a season where everyone was new to the Next Gen car and trying to figure it out. Now that everyone else has figured things out, Busch is the one struggling to adapt years later.
“I think that he doesn’t know how to get the speed out of the Next Gen car on a consistent basis. There’s been flashes of it. Yes, he won three races his first season at RCR. That was the first year of Next Gen, was it not? Everyone was guessing at that point.”
Denny Hamlin on Kyle Busch’s issues with Next Gen car after early success
To RCR’s credit, it brought in a new crew chief for Busch ahead of the 2026 season. After eight races, the radio has already caught multiple instances of tension between Busch and the team. Pohlman has been working with Busch for a few months and even he’s now voiced his frustration with the driver’s constant complaints about the car, saying during the race at Bristol “Same sh*t every week.”.
Busch might leave RCR after the season when his contract expires, something that might be just as much of a relief to his current team as it is for the 40-year-old. As Hamlin also noted, no top team will likely want to take on Busch given his age and volatility. If the top cars aren’t an option and Spire Motorsports decides it’s happy with Daniel Suarez in the No. 7 car, which seems reasonable based on performance right now, Busch could find himself in an identical situation next year with the results becoming a greater indictment on him than his new team.
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