$80M-worth Kyle Busch hits NASCAR milestone, but ongoing struggles overshadow the achievement

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch engraved his name in NASCAR's history books once more following Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway. The champion driver, whose estimated net worth is $80 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, has led at least 200 laps in the last 20 straight Cup Series seasons.

According to X user Trey Ryan, Busch has become only the fifth driver to reach this feat. Richard Petty holds the record with 25 straight seasons with at least 200 laps led, followed by Jeff Gordon with 23, Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 22, and Rusty Wallace with 20.

However, the monumental accomplishment was overshadowed by how the race ended for the driver of the #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Gunning for his first win of the season, Busch found himself leading Sunday's race with under 35 laps to go.

As Busch's gold and black MGM Grand machine approached the #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Chase Briscoe, Busch tried to put the playoff driver a lap down as they worked their way through turns one and two. In an unfortunate turn of events for the Las Vegas native, he tried to find room on the high side of Briscoe, but ran out of room as he slammed the wall coming off turn two and spun out, ultimately thwarting his chances at the victory.

Busch came off of pit road still inside the top 10 after the spin, but ended up mired back in traffic on the final two restarts and finished 19th. Ross Chastain, a fellow non-playoff driver, went on to win the race for his first win of the season.

A dejected Busch spoke to NASCAR on NBC reporter and current Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman following the race and gave his thoughts on seeing yet another opportunity at a win this season slip away.

"It didn't start [to slip away], it just did. Just nothing. I'm numb. I don't know what to do."

Kyle Busch has won at least one race in the last 19 seasons of Cup Series racing, but only has six more races this year to keep that streak alive.

Kyle Busch amid his second season with Richard Childress Racing

In what was one of the biggest driver moves in recent memory, Kyle Busch signed with Richard Childress Racing ahead of the 2023 season after spending the previous 15 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing a period during which he won two Cup titles.

The new driver/team combination started off hot as Busch won the second race of the season last year at the Auto Club Speedway, which was the final race at the track. Busch won two more races in 2023 at Talladega and Gateway, respectively. However, it was an underwhelming playoff run for Busch as he was knocked out in the second round.

This year has been difficult for Busch as he missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2012. In 30 races this year, Busch has posted five top-five finishes and sits 20th in the season standings.