It’s been well-documented how awful Kyle Busch’s 2024 has been, but he has Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his corner, at least.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer believes bright days are ahead for the two-time Cup Series champion. While he’s on the outside looking in of the playoff picture at the moment, Earnhardt Jr. believes the No. 8 can steal a win over the summer, and get himself back in the hunt over the next couple of weeks.
“I wasn’t sure how much y’all wanted to talk about the struggles that Kyle Busch had. It was a tough day. It’s been a long, tough month. Got lapped early. … Just a tough day. I don’t think — I think they turn it around. I mean, they guy could go win next week,” Earnhardt Jr. said, via the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download. “You just don’t know with him. And that team. They’re streaky.
“I know it’s been a bad year compared to last year, but you just don’t ever know. When they show up with a car, the guy can do it.”
Alas, Busch has done it before, shocking the world at times when everyone thought he was washed up. Plus, he did win three races in 2023. It’s not like Earnhardt Jr.’s prediction is without merit, if you ignore the last couple of weeks.
Nevertheless, it’s always darkest before dawn, and that’s a quote Kyle Busch should be living by at the moment. He’s put together some solid runs with some bad luck, so we’ll see if the No. 8 is able to get back on track.
Kyle Busch on New Hampshire wreck under caution, parking and walking off track
Regardless of what Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks, the wheels have seemingly fallen off for Richard Childress Racing. Kyle Busch was a DNF for the third time in the last four races on Sunday. This NASCAR season has been a nightmare for the No. 8 team.
Ironically, Busch perhaps had the woes of his season fully displayed when he wrecked out at New Hampshire. After two hours of waiting to get back on track, Busch lost grip on the wet-weather tires under caution and wrecked before the race restarted.
Up and into the wall. Then, it was over. Busch had been in an incident earlier in the day but this was the final blow. The No. 8 car could no longer continue. Speaking to NBC Sports’ Dustin Long, the two-time Cup Series champion gave a breakdown of his day at New Hampshire.
“I’m proud of everyone at RCR and all the guys on the FICO team for their hard work this weekend. They did a great job making adjustments and repairs. We didn’t get to qualify on Saturday and had only five minutes of practice. The FICO Camaro was a handful in the race but Randall Burnett kept making changes.
“We worked our way back into the lead lap and thought we could pick up a few more spots but unfortunately we hit the wall under caution on wets just before coming back to green after the rain delay and weren’t able to finish. We’ll take the FICO Chevy back to the shop to evaluate what happened and how we can improve on our New Hampshire package.”
Kyle Busch did not speak to reporters after leaving the care center at New Hampshire. In the last six races, Busch has an average finish of 26.5. It’s tough to believe this is anything but rock bottom.
On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.
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