Denny Hamlin delivers blunt judgement on Kyle Busch’s performance amid major overhaul at RCR

Kyle Busch is under pressure. His results at Richard Childress Racing (RCR) have been poor, and now crew chief Randall Burnett is leaving the team. Denny Hamlin recently gave his honest take on Busch’s performance on his podcast Actions Detrimental.

Hamlin said the cars might not be perfect, but the results on Sundays don’t add up. In his words,

“I don't think they're off to the extent that we're seeing on Sundays.”

He went on to say, "Like, you know, you know, I don't know that Randall Bernett is making the car spin out every week or hit the wall every week. You know what I mean? Like there's, there's got to be a little bit of, you know, shared responsibility and what's going on with Kyle right now. But certainly it's, it's not good." [5:05]

Hamlin’s comments came after news broke that Randall Burnett would leave RCR at the end of the season. Burnett is joining Trackhouse Racing in 2026 to work with rookie Connor Zilisch. While that’s a big move, Hamlin pointed out that Burnett isn’t the reason Kyle Busch is hitting the wall or spinning out every week.

Kyle Busch and RCR have been struggling for a while. Burnett took over as Busch’s crew chief in 2023 after working with Tyler Reddick. The two started strong with three wins in their first season together. But since Busch’s last win at World Wide Technology Raceway in mid-2023, things have fallen apart.

In the 87 races since that win, Busch has a 17.9 average finish and no wins. In 2024, he didn’t win a single race, ending an 18-year streak. So far in 2025, he hasn’t even finished in the top three.

Burnett’s move to Trackhouse Racing was confirmed in late September. He’ll be crew chief for 19-year-old Connor Zilisch, who is having a strong rookie Xfinity season. Zilisch is expected to replace Daniel Suarez in the Cup Series in 2026. With Burnett leaving, RCR now has to find someone new to lead Busch’s team.

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Kyle Busch sets his eyes on the Roval as his winless streak continues

Kyle Busch’s winless streak has now stretched more than two full seasons. At Kansas Speedway, Busch showed some speed but once again didn’t come close to the front.

After the race, his frustration was clear. He said the team made changes throughout the race, but it wasn’t enough to compete for a win. Speaking to NBC Sports after the race, Busch said,

“The entire No. 8 Chevrolet team worked throughout the race to make adjustments to make us competitive today. We made forward progress, but it just wasn’t enough to get us where we needed to be to contend for a victory this afternoon at Kansas Speedway. This race is in the books, and our attention is now on securing that first win of the season next weekend at the Charlotte Roval.”

Kyle Busch still has 63 career Cup Series wins, the most among active drivers. But none of those wins have come in the past two years. Busch hasn’t led laps regularly, and the No. 8 team hasn’t had the speed to challenge the top drivers.

Busch joined RCR in 2023 to help the team return to the front of the field. That mission looked promising early with three wins. But since then, the results have declined fast. Now, with Randall Burnett on the way out, Busch’s side of the garage faces more changes in 2026.