Everything Kyle Busch did in the last two years — from selling Kyle Busch Motorsports to focusing on his son’s rising career — has all been taken as a sign of an impending retirement. The notion was fueled by his struggle to live up to the high standards he set for himself throughout his career.
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Busch turns 40 in May. That’s an age where every driver starts thinking about calling it a day. And his career has seen a downward trajectory, too. He hit a low point in 2024 after failing to qualify for the playoffs.
He hasn’t won a race yet this season either, extending his winless streak to 66 races. Surely, Busch doesn’t want to hang around as a dead weight like many notable drivers did toward the end of their careers. All the loud, recurring rumors and the performance dip have forced the two-time Cup Series champion to clarify his plans.
And Busch has no plans of retiring anytime soon. “I have heard plenty of the talk. Absolutely no,” he said in an interview with TODAY.
“I am turning 40. I know Denny Hamlin is out there at 44, 45 winning races. I’m still right there. I still got plenty in the tank. I’m ready to go,” added Busch.
This would be a welcome relief for his fans. However, if the plan is to stay, he had better make sure not to tarnish his otherwise perfect picture in the sport. He needs victories.
Busch is optimistic about picking himself up again from the rut. “We are working with RCR this year. We race at Talladega this weekend. We won there a couple of years ago and are looking forward to doing that again this weekend,” he said.
All that’s left to do is wait and see if the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro can weave some speed and magic on Sunday.
Could Busch end up like Jimmie Johnson or Richard Petty?
Falling from grace late in a career is not new in motorsports. After winning his seventh Cup Series championship in 2016, Jimmie Johnson faded as a racer and was never a strong contender again.
After winning at Dover in June 2017, Johnson never won a race till the end of his career. His performances weakened with age, and he retired at the age of 45 in 2020, after failing to win in his last 143 Cup Series starts.
Richard Petty, for all the legend that he is, did not win a race in his final 241 starts. Three-time champion Darrell Waltrip went winless in his last 251 races. The one thing in common between these three drivers is that they stuck around for too long.
It is easy to suspect that Busch might end up traversing this path. If things don’t get better for him this year, it would be a wise choice to opt for retirement.
Furthermore, his three-year contract with Richard Childress Racing is yet to be renewed. If the team doesn’t renew the papers, where does he go from here if he wants to continue racing?
