“No Matter How This Ends”: NASCAR Insider Makes Big Claim About Kyle Busch Before Heartbreak at COTA

Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch once again came excruciatingly close to getting back into victory lane as the NASCAR Cup Series went live from the Circuit of the Americas for the first road course event of the 2025 season.

Busch was considered one of the fastest cars throughout the day as drivers took to the new layout at COTA. The #8 Chevrolet driver contested in the top 5 spots throughout the first stage and took the lead from road course expert Shane van Gisbergen as the second stage kicked off. He then led 42 of the 92 total laps, the highest of any driver in the event.

However, his mid-race dominance could not be converted into a victory as the Las Vegas native relinquished the lead to the hard-charging trio of Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick at the end of the final stage as the checkered flag dropped.

While Busch led the trio, a caution flag for Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin coming together meant Busch could not fend off the competition, ultimately finishing in P5. Despite what could have been for the 2-time champion of the sport looking to break a now 60-race-long winless streak, fellow Xfinity Series driver and NBC Sports analyst Parker Kligerman showered him with high praise.

“No matter how this ends. This is one of the most impressive @KyleBusch drives of the next gen era,” wrote Kligerman on social media, touching on how Kyle Busch’s pace throughout the event was unlike anything seen from the veteran driver as well as the Richard Childress Racing camp in the last two years.

With Busch running up front with speed enough to take on the likes of SVG on a road course, he quickly became one of the favorites to win the race as the green flag dropped on Sunday. However, it sure was not meant to be. Despite coming extremely close, Busch was a gracious loser.

Kyle Busch credits Christopher Bell post COTA finish

Despite being handed the short end of the stick once again, especially on a day when it looked like Busch would break his 59-race-long streak heading into COTA, the RCR driver graciously accepted defeat to one of his former teammates. The #8 Chevrolet Camaro driver praised Christopher Bell during a post-race interview and summed up his race:

“I’ll give Christopher credit where credit’s due. He ran me really hard and I was a complete butthead. He did a great job working me over and just doing it the right way and being able to get by. Congrats to him, good job to the #20 bunch but wish it was us,” he told Fox Sports.

With his winless streak now 60 races long, Busch also touched on the grit of his team and himself as a driver. It seems like the veteran still has a lot to give in the sport, contrary to what his recent results might indicate.