Kyle Busch, a NASCAR great, has struggled heavily over the last few years and hopes of a turnaround in fortunes in 2026 have not yet been fulfilled. His winless streak continues after the first four races of the season, taking his drought to 97 races without a trip to victory lane.
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Busch has said he plans to keep racing until his son, Brexton Busch, reaches the stage where the two can share the track. Yet as each race passes without a win, the talk around the garage grows louder. Fans continue to wait for the tide to turn, only to leave race weekends with the same disappointment.
Now voices from inside the sport have weighed in on what may lie ahead. During a segment on Inside the Race, former driver turned analyst Kyle Petty spoke about Busch’s season and the chances of the No. 8 car breaking through, and they aren’t exactly promising.
Petty said he would like to see the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver reach Victory Lane, but he does not expect it to happen this year. “I don’t think we’re going to win,” Petty said, repeating the view more than once.
He made clear the stance had nothing to do with Busch’s skill behind the wheel. “I think Kyle Bush is one of the greatest race car drivers ever to crawl through a window and strap into one of these things.”
“And I think he still is today. I think he still is today. But that team is just far enough out of where they need to be that he can’t put that car on his back and carry it,” he added.
The discussion then turned to Steve Letarte, who once called the shots on the pit box for Hendrick Motorsports. He echoed the same line of thinking when looking at Busch’s path through the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series season, pointing to the change on the pit box, where Jim Pohlman stepped in as Busch’s crew chief for the 2026 campaign. Teams often make such moves in hopes of turning the page. A new voice or a shift in approach can sometimes bring a team back into the hunt.
Even with that move, Letarte said the gap on track between the No. 8 team and the front of the field still remains. From a performance standpoint, he said he cannot point to signs that a win will arrive through pace alone.
That does not close the door on the chance of a surprise. NASCAR can see the scene completely flipped in a heartbeat. Trouble for the leaders, a caution at the right time, or a gamble on pit road can hand a driver an opening that did not seem to exist before.
Busch’s experience could still put him in position if the right circumstances appear on a particular race day. Still, those paths rely on the kind of breaks that come along only once in a while. So far this season, Busch has managed three top-20 finishes, including one in the top 15.
