Kyle Busch's Richmond performance dubbed a "wrecking ball" by NASCAR insiders

On the latest episode of the Teardown podcast on YouTube, NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi talked about Kyle Busch's performance during the Cook Out 400 held at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 16, 2025. Busch had tough luck during the 400-lap race; meanwhile, his RCR teammate Austin Dillon secured the win.

Busch had a slow start during the qualifying session for the 300-mile race. He was 0.43 seconds behind the pole sitter, Ryan Preece, and qualified in P28 with a best lap time of 22.68 seconds and a top speed of 119.05 mph. Additionally, the RCR driver was penalized for overspeeding on the pit road through the first ten sections.

Later, on turn three during lap 198, Kyle Busch triggered a multi-car wreck, collecting 12 cars on the 0.75-mile track. The #8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver rear-ended Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe and sent him into the traffic, wreaking havoc on the track. The crash resulted in a DNF for Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott and collected Briscoe's teammate Denny Hamlin as well.

Reflecting on the Busch's performance at Richmond, NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck stated (via YouTube):

"By the way, Kyle Busch, we talked about how it's a great night for RCR. Kyle Bush had, like, I don't know what was going on. I mean, he started off the race and he was immediately like, "You guys got this thing wrong and it it feels broken and it wants to spin out." Um, and then he was like a wrecking ball. I mean, he was hitting people left and right. He hit, he took out both Chases because he took out Briscoe, and then the same wreck he took out Chase Elliott." [45:31 onwards]

"Then he had the moment there where he sped on pit road from sections one through 10. Yeah. Like every section or whatever. It was just like, dude, um, and then his teammate wins. But you know, I still feel like he'll have, uh, he'll have a chance next week," he added.

Despite getting involved in the multi-car pile-up, Kyle Busch finished the 400-lap race among the top-20 drivers on the track and secured a 16th-place finish. Meanwhile, his teammate Austin Dillon won the race with a lead of 2.41 seconds and earned 54 points.

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"We just lost the air racing in traffic": Kyle Busch opened up about his Pocono Raceway mishap

Earlier in June 2025, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was involved in an accident at Pocono Raceway and sustained serious damage to his #8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 while struggling in traffic on the track.

During the Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, the Richard Childress Racing driver was trying to move a spot, but in turn two, he got spun out, resulting in a multi-car wreck. The spin collected Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen, and Kaulig Racing driver Ty Dillon in his #10 Chevy Camaro ZL1.

Kyle Busch sustained severe damage to his car but kept his car on the track. However, his #8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 took a toll and affected the car's performance. Reflecting on the same, the Las Vegas native stated (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 currently ranks 16th on the Cup Series points table with 537 points to his credit. He has secured seven top-ten finishes and two top-five finishes in 25 starts this season. Additionally, Busch has yet to secure a win to qualify to clinch a spot in the playoffs.