Kyle Petty Brings Up Kyle Busch Title Win to Warn Joe Gibbs Racing Against Complacency

Neha Dwivedi | 17/09/2025
Donnie Allison (l) and Kyle Petty talk to the fans in the Talladega Garage Experience before the running of the Monster Energy NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series 1000Bulbs.com 500 race on October 13, 2019 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

With a late charge from fifth place to the front in the final four laps of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell kept Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota unbeaten in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, sealing a clean sweep of the opening round.

By joining JGR teammates Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin as winners in the Round of 16, Bell booked his ticket to the Round of 12. Yet Kyle Petty cautioned JGR fans not to count their chickens too soon, pointing to Kyle Busch’s unusual 2015 title run as proof that early dominance doesn’t always guarantee the crown.

In 2015, Busch captured the championship with five wins, including the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, despite missing the first eleven races, among them the Daytona 500, after breaking his right leg and left foot in a Feb. 21 crash at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR granted him a waiver to remain eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup despite rules requiring drivers to compete in every event. And by winning four races in the regular season, Busch sealed his spot in the playoffs.

Petty noted another bit from that season. “That’s the only time a single round has been one by one owner and one manufacturer. But it was also with one driver: Joey Logano! He swept around in the playoffs… The problem is… He didn’t go on to win the championship. Kyle Busch won the championship with JGR and Toyota.”

Drawing parallels, Petty said, “JGR! First round. Pure dominance when we look at laps lead, when we look at passes, when we look at anything that could happen, any stat NASCAR keeps.” Still, he posed the question: “Will these guys make it forward? Will they move into the final round? Will we have three of those cars there? I doubt!”

He added that he doesn’t expect all three, Briscoe, Hamlin, and Bell, to reach the Championship 4. In his words, somebody is bound to fall by the wayside. “Dominance now is good, but dominance in Phoenix is a lot better.”

So Petty urged fans not to hand JGR and Toyota the trophy just yet, reminding them that, as 2015 had proven, in racing and in the seven playoff races still to come, anything could happen.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
Chase Briscoe Christopher Bell Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Kyle Busch Kyle Petty

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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