Kyle Busch lashes out at Denny Hamlin after comments

Kyle Busch. Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Kyle Busch lashes out at Denny Hamlin after comments: 'I can certainly make his life hell'

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Apr 18, 2026 4:13 PM ET

Kyle Busch is none too happy that Denny Hamlin called him out for a lack of recent success.

On the latest episode of Hamlin's podcast, "Actions Detrimental," Hamlin discussed Busch's career-worst slump. Busch is currently on a 101-race winless streak and has not made the Cup Series playoffs since 2023.

"If you're expecting Kyle Busch to just go back to Victory Lane on a regular basis, you are kidding yourselves and you're going to be very disappointed," Hamlin said, per USA Today. "...And I can just say that it's just not working. But I don't have the answers."

Busch didn't take very kindly to Hamlin's words.

Kyle Busch calls out Denny Hamlin

"If Denny wants to switch cars, I'll switch cars with him any day of the week, any time," Busch told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic on Saturday. "I would love for him to show me that he could carry it better than I can."

Kyle Busch seemingly did not appreciate the comments on Denny Hamlin’s podcast. pic.twitter.com/VtkqqFlVsR
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 18, 2026

Busch, a former teammate of Hamlin's at Joe Gibbs Racing, has driven for Richard Childress Racing since 2023. The pairing seemed to be a good one during the 2023 season, with Busch winning three of the first 15 races before sputtering in the second half. In the two-plus seasons since, however, the honeymoon has taken a turn.

Busch finished 20th and 21st, respectively, in the 2024 and 2025 standings and is 24th through the first eight races of 2026. Hamlin, meanwhile, won six races and finished runner-up in the 2025 standings and is third so far this season with a win at Las Vegas.

While Hamlin, 45, is older than Busch, he's also driving cars that seem to be much quicker and more capable than Busch's.

"I've consumed that 80 percent of it [talk], people don't know what the hell they're talking about," Busch said in regard to discussions about his recent struggles. "In this instance, I don't feel like Denny Hamlin even knows what the hell he's talking about. He can bash me all he wants. I can certainly make his life hell."

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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