Kyle Busch looking to rebound in 2025 after worst year of NASCAR career

Before 2024, the term "bad season" wasn't even in Kyle Busch's lexicon. 

Sure, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 63-time Cup Series winner had seen seasons where he didn't meet his own lofty standards — see 2012, 2014, 2020 and 2022, all seasons in which Busch "only" won a single race. 

But Busch's definition of a bad season is one not shared by many in the garage area. Most teams would probably love to experience one of Busch's "bad seasons" for themselves.

Through 19 full-time Cup Series seasons (2005-2023) Busch had never gone winless. Only once, in his rookie season of 2005, had he ever had an average finish worse than 18th. In his first 19 Cup Series seasons, Busch never had less than 13 top-10 finishes. 

Whether you chalk it up to Father Time finally corralling the once-untouchable Busch or Richard Childress Racing lacking speed, the results speak for themselves: Busch compiled zero wins, just 10 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 18.6 in 2024. For the first time since 2012, Busch missed the postseason. 

After a crash with Kyle Larson at the Enjoy Illinois 300 on June 2 left Busch in a precarious points situation in regards to the playoff cut line, Busch remarked to reporters that he and the No. 8 team "can't afford days like this" in the midst of a tense points battle. 

Rather than the battle for the regular-season championship, the points battle being waged was just to make the playoffs. With every passing week, Busch continued to inch further and further in the wrong direction of the playoff cut line. Two runner-up finishes at Daytona and Darlington in the final two regular-season races sealed his fate: he wouldn't be competing for a third championship. 

Entering Season 21, Busch has the least momentum he's ever had entering a Cup Series season. There are no victories, playoff appearances or even a string of consistent runs at the end of the season for the veteran driver to hang his hat on. 

The good news — or, rather, the bad news — for the rest of the field? Busch still has as much talent as any driver in the series, and if he's provided with competent cars, there's no reason he can't return to form. 

It was just two years ago that Busch won three of the season's first 15 races in 2023, and while RCR wasn't consistently running up front over the second half of the season, the team did provide much faster cars for Busch and Austin Dillon during the season's final stretch. 

The first shot Busch has to break his winless streak? His 20th attempt at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16. If you recall, there was once another great driver for Richard Childress Racing who managed to finally win the Daytona 500 in his 20th attempt. 

What Busch does in 2025 won't define his legacy in NASCAR, but it will be an important measuring stick for his future in the sport as a driver.