Kyle Busch gets real about RCR’s struggles after Pocono disaster

Kyle Busch lamented a disastrous outing at Pocono Raceway, where a costly spin resulted in 'heavy damage' for his No. 8 Chevy. The 40-year-old admitted that the car was 'never the same' afterward, and struggled especially in traffic.

During Sunday's The Great American Getaway 400, Busch was battling for 24th place when he spun on turn 2 and triggered a multi-car incident, collecting Christopher Bell, Shane Van Gisbergen and Ty Dillon. The mishap drew parallels to last weekend's Mexico City race, where he similarly lost control and spun out early on, leading to his second DNF of the season.

This time around, Busch managed to salvage the situation and keep his car in the lead lap, but the damage had taken a toll on his No.8 Chevy. He ultimately finished the race in 20th, a modest improvement from his starting position at 26th.

Speaking to the media post-race, Busch reflected on the day's turn of events and said (via NBC Sports),

"Our Chevrolet team worked hard today at Pocono Raceway to overcome obstacles. A speeding penalty on pit road put us behind at the end of Stage 1, then we ended up with heavy damage to our Chevy after spinning towards the end of Stage 2. We just lost the air racing in traffic."

"Crew chief Randall Burnett and the rest of the RCR team worked hard to keep us on the lead lap. Our Chevy was never the same after the spin, and handling was really bad in traffic," he added.

Kyle Busch took home a 17-point haul from Sunday's race; he stands 63 points short of the playoffs at 20th place.

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"I’m seeing the slump": Kyle Busch's brother weighs in on RCR struggles

Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch's older brother and fellow Cup Series champion, acknowledged the latter's poor stretch of results with Richard Childress Racing. Kyle has gone winless for two years now. His debut season with RCR fetched him multiple race wins and a playoff appearance, but the 40-year-old has failed to replicate the feat since.

Reflecting upon the same, Kurt Busch said (via Yarbarker),

"Yeah, I’m seeing the slump from the No. 8 car and the No. 3 car this year, but those things happen. I mean, you’re on top of your game one year, you come back to the track next year and you’re like, ‘Why am I P20 on the board. It happens.”

Kyle Busch's 2024 season marked his first playoff absence since 2012, ending an 11 year streak of making postseason appearances. Notably, the winless season also broke his streak of nabbing a race win in 19 consecutive seasons.

His best result this year was a top-5 finish at The Circuit of The Americas. The RCR driver has led 62 laps so far but has struggled to convert them into race wins, leading to a dismal average finish of 18.