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Kyle Busch recently spoke about the issues with his No. 8 RCR Chevrolet as the two-time NASCAR Cup champion grapples with poor form.
Kyle Busch's second season with Richard Childress Racing has gotten off to a bumpy start. The 38-year-old driver, who made a blockbuster move from Joe Gibbs Racing to RCR last season, made his mark in 2023 after winning three races and reaching the playoffs in his first campaign with the team.
However, Busch has failed to impress in the ongoing season. Barring the historic three-wide finish in Las Vegas, the No. 8 driver has a solitary top 10 finish from COTA. This season, the Las Vegas native has only managed to record an average finish of 16.625 after eight rounds.
In a recent episode of The Kenny Wallace Show, Busch delved into the team's struggles, particularly on short tracks where they have faced significant challenges. He said:
"The short track stuff has definitely been our struggle. Everybody nowadays relies so much on simulation and all that stuff, but the sim stuff has kinda thrown us the wrong way."
Drawing parallels to their difficulties at Richmond last year, Kyle Busch added:
"You always gotta be on the forefront of new ideas and fresh ideas and you just gotta be smarter and better. So, I think some of it is setup stuff, and some of it is car build."
Kyle Busch voices displeasure with NASCAR's short-track tire package
Aiming to build more stability and parity in the competition, NASCAR introduced a brand-new short-track Goodyear tire package in the NextGen cars. The new tire package has inadvertently hampered overtaking opportunities due to reduced tire degradation.
Busch, 38, expressed his frustration with the package and lamented the challenges he faced while attempting to follow other cars on the track. The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver told Speed Sport:
"I didn't think we could make it worse, but by golly we did...for me anyways. Maybe it's just because we don't have it quite figured out like others do, but I cannot follow anybody in front of me whatsoever. It doesn't matter if I'm in the bottom lane, the middle lane, the top lane. If there is a car in front of me, I am terrible. Really bad."
Despite acknowledging some minor benefits in terms of car control, Busch criticized the lack of front-end grip and overall handling issues that hinder his performance in race situations. He said:
"It doesn't matter because they're not going to do it, so it doesn't matter. I'm not going to paint myself in a bad spot to get in trouble."
After eight races, Kyle Busch is ranked 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.
