$80M-worth Kyle Busch exposes one thing many new generation of NASCAR drivers lack

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch pinpointed a problem that he finds in young drivers these days. His comments came in the wake of Jesse Love making his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

Love’s debut has been scheduled for Sunday, April 13. After bagging the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship, he joined Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity lineup under a full-time schedule in 2024. He finished eighth in the championship standings and won the Rookie of the Year honors.

Despite his array of accolades, Love realized that Cup racing would be on an entirely different level of difficulty. On that note, the 20-year-old speedster called up Kyle Busch, his teammate at RCR, who is worth $80 million as of 2025 (via Celebrity Net Worth).

Taking pointers from senior drivers is exactly what the new drivers don’t do these days. During a recent interview with journalist Peter Stratta, Busch said,

“Just that he picked up the phone and asked and called, you know? That's the first thing, right? A lot of drivers don't do that anymore these days.”

However, Jesse Love is different. As reported by Alan Cavanna, the Menlo Park, California native ran 2000 laps in the simulator to prepare for his Cup debut at Bristol. Half of it made up for two races that he ran on iRacing.

Kyle Busch will also run the 500-lap race, named Food City 500. He is currently vying for his first Cup victory of the 2025 season. Fans can watch the race on FS1 from 3 pm ET onwards or listen to live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Kyle Busch reflects on NASCAR cutting down on practice time

From 2015 to 2019, Kyle Busch won two Cup Series championships and logged 27 victories. But in the last five years, he has been able to log only seven wins with his last trip to the victory lane at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4, 2023.

Some might think it’s due to his age, while others might argue that it’s because of the lack of balance in the Next Gen car. But Kyle Busch has a different reason, and it all starts with NASCAR reducing practice times for Cup races.

Reflecting on the same during an interview with reporter Kyle Dalton, the NASCAR veteran said,

“I can with the car, yes. (But) the practice time being so limited and the adjustments that you're able to make being so limited, you don't have those tools at your disposal to be able to work with. So it's what you show up to the racetrack with is what you got.”

As of today, Kyle Busch is on a 65-race winless streak. He sits 15th in the driver standings with 177 points to his name. The year 2025 marks his third season with Richard Childress Racing, a North Carolina-based race team known to have fielded legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt and Neil Bonnett in the past.