“Hopefully for the better”: Kyle Busch shares his thoughts on major RCR change at top level

Kyle Busch shared his thoughts on the sudden retirement of Andy Petree, the competition director at Richard Childress Racing. He mentioned that while he’ll miss the good times and camaraderie with Petree, he's hopeful that this change could open the door to something better.

In 1993, Andy Petree joined the RCR team as the crew chief for the #3 car driven by Dale Earnhardt, guiding the Hall of Famer to his sixth and seventh championships.

Currently, in his second season with Richard Childress Racing and twenty-first in his career, Kyle Busch’s 2024 season differs sharply from his performance last year. By this time last year, he had already secured three wins, but in 2024, he's only managed two top-5s and three top-10s. Analysts, including Kevin Harvick, point out that his car just isn’t as fast this year, making it tough for him to move up the ranks and overtake competitors on the track.

"The problem with Kyle Busch’s situation right now is that they just don’t have any speed in their car for the most part," Harvick said via NASCAR on Fox.

In the midst of what’s been the toughest winless streak of Kyle Busch's career- 39 races, he weighed in on Andy Petree’s departure, saying:

"I mean change sometimes lends itself to an open opportunity, hopefully for the better. So, you know, I respect to hell out of Andy and what he's done and what he's done in the sport and the legacy that he holds. And so, we had a lot of fun together and some good laughs and some good relationships and, you know, hopefully, that we can better our program without him there and carry on in the future."

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Kyle Busch talks about his New Hampshire DNF run

Kyle Busch has had a tough stretch with DNFs in three of his last four races, including Gateway, Iowa, and New Hampshire. In the last race- USA Today 301 at New Hampshire, Busch found himself at the back of the pack, getting trapped in two wrecks, one of which happened under a caution flag.

Things went from bad to worse when he collided with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and then hit the outside wall during a caution as the track was drying. The crash happened just as the race was gearing up to restart. The series of mishaps led to a disappointing end, earning him only two points.

When Bob Pockrass asked Kyle Busch about the incident, he explained:

"I think I broke traction and spun out. I mean, I lifted way early and just kind of soft rolled into the corner and it slid across three lanes and got to the old asphalt and turned sideways and I tried to correct it to chase it and it just turned and hooked the other way and spent me in the fence. That's exactly the story." [at 1:20]

Next, the #8 RCR driver is setting his sights on the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. He's had mixed results there, with an average finish of 13.7 across three races and one top-10 finish to his name.