“It’s my service to them”: Kyle Busch feels he’s ‘worked harder’ this season for RCR than in the past 4 years

Kyle Busch is back to winning ways after suffering a terrible spell of form in his last few years with Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch, now driving for Richard Childress Racing, has rebounded with two wins in the first 10 races of the year.

While riding a wave of success with the new organization, Busch has revealed the hard work that went in behind the scenes to achieve the results. The two-time Cup Series champion admitted that he had to put in extra effort to hit the ground running with RCR.

After winning the GEICO 500, the #8 driver said:

"Trust me, I’ve probably done more, worked harder in this year than I have in the last four just because of feeling like it’s my duty, it’s my service to them to give them everything that I’ve got, absolutely everything that I’ve got, for them sticking their neck out for me at RCR."

Kyle Busch had previously described the situation at Joe Gibbs Racing as having 'been hard as hell' in his final years with the team. He had a major slump in form after his championship-winning season in 2019. Driving the #18 Toyota, he then won four races in three seasons.

With such a dip in form, Joe Gibbs Racing failed to find a sponsor for the #18 car, allowing RCR to sign the star driver. Ending his 15-year tenure at JGR, Busch decided to move on.

He told the media that joining RCR has 'been a breath of fresh air', after troubled times in the previous season, saying:

"They didn’t think that Kyle Busch was washed up or anything like that. It was really a breath of fresh air to get over there and get to work."

After 10 races into the 2023 season, Busch is emerging as one of the early favorites for the title.

Kyle Busch worried about RCR's short-track program

With two wins in his pocket, Kyle Busch is cutting no slack in preparing for this weekend's race at Dover International Speedway. Heading into the 1-mile track in Delaware, Busch lamented RCR's struggles on short tracks.

Busch failed to finish inside the top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. However, teammate Austin Dillon performed well in the two races.

Speaking to the media, the 37-year-old said:

"Have you watched our short track program? It’s a struggle. We’re working on that."

He added:

"I think next week is another big test for us, as the RCR group, statistically speaking, at Dover was horrendous a year ago. Hopefully, we can turn that around."

While Busch reckons there is a lot to do, team owner Richard Childress has been impressed by him. He said the 37-year-old driver is guiding the team to where they want to be.