Kyle Busch lashes out at Larson for “air blocking him” during Michigan Cup race

Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch lashed out at Kyle Larson for his defensive tactics at the Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway. During the 2025 FireKeepers Casino 400, Busch criticized his tactic of “air-blocking”.

Chase Briscoe started on pole, marking his third consecutive pole and fourth of the season, with Busch alongside him in the front row. Chris Buescher won Stage 1, followed by William Byron and Denny Hamlin.

A significant crash involving Alex Bowman on Lap 68 brought out an 11-minute red flag; he exited the vehicle on his own. William Byron regained the lead on Lap 78 after a restart with Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick close behind him. Reddick, who started at the rear due to unapproved adjustments to his car, had made a notable charge into the top three by this point.

NASCAR journalist Peter Stratta shared the transcript of the audio from Kyle Busch’s radio. He said:

"The 5 just air-blocked me instead of being on the offense for what's ahead of him, I mean what the f*ck are we doing?"

The rivalry between Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson has become a compelling narrative in the world of NASCAR, fueled by their on-track clashes and contrasting personalities. Busch has set a number of benchmarks in the sport, including winning all three national NASCAR series races in a single weekend, an achievement he accomplished twice at Bristol.

Larson has been very open about chasing this achievement, but has fallen short twice this season due to late race incidents and misfortune.

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Kyle Busch remains skeptical about NASCAR horsepower plan

Kyle Busch recently addressed the ongoing discussions about increasing horsepower in Cup Series cars, a topic that has generated significant excitement among fans and drivers.

NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer confirmed that the organization is actively exploring ways to boost engine output, especially for short tracks and road courses. However, Busch remains doubtful that any meaningful changes will be implemented, citing a history of the sport moving toward bigger tires, bigger brakes, and less horsepower, which he believes has not led to better racing.

"A lot of times the Xfinity Series is better, and that's the old car we have[...] The years when we were running 900 horse was pretty badass. The cars were screaming during qualifying. It was a lot of fun to have that sort of power to put yourself to that limit to see how fast you could go," Kyle Busch said via The Tennessean.

Despite his legendary status—amassing 232 wins across NASCAR’s top three divisions and ranking ninth on the all-time Cup Series wins list—Busch has struggled to add to his win tally in recent seasons