Kyle Busch labels Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew-chiefing Connor Zilisch a "publicity" stunt ahead of the Pocono race

Two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch had a rather interesting view of Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking on the crew chief duties for Connor Zilisch this weekend. Dale Jr. will be the eyes of his own team's #88 car during the Xfinity race at Pocono. The Richard Childress Racing driver labeled Dale Jr.'s decision as a "publicity" stunt ahead of the Cup Series qualifying at Pocono.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about making his crew chief debut this weekend and said:

“I’m excited to help Mardy and those guys out. Mardy texted me a couple weeks ago about doing this, and I said I’ll do it. We’ve got a really good staff, a group of people like (Mike) Bumgarner and Patrick (Martin, interior specialist) on this team, so (there) shouldn’t be any problems or anything that we can’t handle.” (Quotes from nascar.com)

However, Kyle Busch was not necessarily convinced by Dale Jr.'s latest decision. As a driver and a previous team owner himself, Busch laughed at the reporter's question when asked about the "difficulty Dale Jr. might face in transitioning".

Busch stated (quotes from 4:30):

"It's all publicity. He's just going to be a warm body sitting on top of the box. They have got enough stuff from the shop and enough technologies these days of being able to have the crew chief still involved."

Kyle Busch added to his point by mentioning that he could do the same thing, but the guys in the garage would be controlling the narrative anyway. Furthermore, the RCR driver also made it very clear that he had no interest in crew-chiefing in the future.

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Kurt Busch talks about Kyle Busch's struggles this season

Kurt Busch addressed his brother's disappointing season with Richard Childress Racing so far. The 2-time Cup champion is currently 18th in the driver standings. He also has no victory lane trips in more than two years and only one top-five so far in 2025.

After another crash in Mexico, the older Busch talked about the #8 RCR car's struggles. Kurt is also the grand marshal at Pocono this weekend - a race which halted his NASCAR career forever.

He said (via On3):

“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.”

While Kurt will take on the marshal duties, Kyle Busch will look to end his winless streak this weekend again. Can the veteran driver finally break his duck and visit the victory lane at Pocono?