Kyle Busch's 2024 season hits rock bottom at New Hampshire

If you thought things couldn't get any worse for Kyle Busch after Iowa, you were wrong. 

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion finished 35th at New Hampshire on Sunday — his third finish of 30th or worse in the last four races — and did so while being lapped on pace multiple times and being involved in multiple crashes. 

Busch's final act on Sunday included something breaking on the No. 8 car, sending Busch's automobile into the outside wall and resulting in race-ending damage. 

After an extremely rough four-week stretch, Busch now sits 19th in the playoff standings, 45 points outside of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with eight races remaining in the regular-season. 

At a time of the season where finding consistent speed is imperative for Busch, it wasn't the crashes that should bother the No. 8 team, but rather, the complete lack of speed under the hood. 

While Busch couldn't control where he started — the starting lineup was set by the rulebook after rain washed out qualifying on Saturday — he was unable to move through the field, running as low as 32nd on raw speed at points in the race. 

At one point, Busch nearly lost 32nd while battling with rookie Zane Smith, who currently sits last in Cup Series points among full-time drivers. No disrespect towards Smith, but Busch and Richard Childress Racing should be well past the point of battling rookies in mediocre equipment. 

New Hampshire was just another example of the No. 8 looking like a complete mess as a whole. That may be the biggest issue facing Busch and the No. 8 crew — there isn't one singular issue that can be pointed out. 

Whether it be the driver, poor strategy or just pure speed, the No. 8 team is getting outworked and outran nearly every single weekend. 

At this point, Busch is out of mulligans. With only eight races left for Busch to make the postseason, it's time for the No. 8 team to turn up the wick or risk missing the playoffs altogether.