“It just bit me”: Kyle Busch makes feelings clear after suffering from RCR Chevy’s ongoing issue in Chicago

Kyle Busch opened up about persistent grip issues plaguing his No. 8 RCR Chevy, which ultimately led to an early spin in Sunday’s (July 6) Chicago Street Race. Despite the setback, the Las Vegas native recovered to match his season-best result in fifth.

Busch had one of his better starts at The Grant Park 160 and moved up into the top-three, going as high as second by Stage 1. On lap 34, Busch had a tough time keeping up on old tires and spun out from sixth place. Moreover, he was also penalized for running through too many pit stalls on his way to pit road, which resulted in a 31st-place result in Stage 2.

Reflecting upon his misfortunes at Chicago, Busch told NBS Sports:

"We got a good jump on the initial start there and was able to roll forward and get to third. We tried to go long on that first set of tires, and with those couple of cautions, it didn’t fall into our favor. That put us on old tires and I spun out getting into (turn) seven. We just didn’t have any left-rear grip. That’s something we’ve struggled with on this car, and it just bit me there."

The result was Kyle Busch's only other top-five of the season, but it proved crucial and bumped him four spots up the drivers' standings to 16th overall. Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen took the checkered flag and matched the RCR's driver's record for a weekend sweep on pole.

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Kyle Busch addresses team accountability ahead of the playoffs

Despite his fifth-place finish at the Chicago Street Race, Kyle Busch is 59 points below the playoff cutoff line. With seven races to go in the regular season, the RCR driver is at risk of missing the postseason for a second straight year.

Speaking ahead of last weekend's race at Echopark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), Busch detailed what his #8 team needs to do.

“I think it just boils down to all of us on our team being accountable. Pit crew, myself, (crew chief) Randall (Burnett), engineers, everybody and being able to do what we know how to do and what we’re paid to do and that’s to execute," he said (via nbsports.com).

Kyle Busch went on to finish one spot shy of the top 20 at Atlanta. The result had him losing out to second-place finisher Brad Keselowski in Round 1 of the In-Season Challenge.

Apart from a handful of races, the 40-year-old has been a no-show all season, recording an average finish of 17. His last triumph came in June 2023, and he's now gone 76 races without a win, a far cry from the two-time Cup champion's dominant days.