“I had some long conversations with Chase Elliott”: Kyle Busch highlights communication difficulties with the Next Gen car

Kyle Busch sat down with Kevin Harvick for NASCAR on Fox to discuss the change in communication with his team since the advent of the NextGen Car. He also discussed how Chase Elliott and he changed their driving styles with the new model.

Busch, the Richard Childress Racing driver, underlined the communication difficulty with his crew about the Next Gen Car in an interview with the NASCAR legend, Harvick. In the interview, he discussed how he doesn’t share much information about the changes he needs in the car as opposed to the late-model cars. Harvick pointed out that Busch was very vocal about “every freaking thing” he wants changed in the car and asked him how has it changed. Busch replied (0:55 onwards):

"Yeah, I've definitely had to take more of a backseat role on calling out adjustments. Now, I have still been able to kind of pick out, like last week, for instance, we lowered left rear air pressure, made the car tighter. But for me to be able to pinpoint and tell them, like, we got to change a spring or a shock or a bar or this or that, I'm out. A lot of times I say things and I'm backwards."

Busch also mentioned how Elliott and he (having grown up racing the “super late models”) have discussed the changes they have faced in racing the Next Gen models.

"I've had some long conversations with Chase Elliott because we grew up the same way, like racing super late models across the country and those style of cars. And I'm like, man, have you found this thing to just be a beast? And he's like, yeah, I've had to change my driving style, just like what you just said. And I'm like, I don't know how to do that. Especially as we get older. It's been a heck of an evolution," he added.

The Nevada native is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, winning titles in 2015 and 2019. As of 2025, Busch holds the record for the most all-time wins in the NASCAR National Series with 231 victories. Currently driving the #8 for Richard Childress Racing, Busch will be hoping to break a winless streak in the race at Las Vegas, his hometown.

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Kyle Busch pointed to the weather factor behind the challenges of racing in Las Vegas

Kyle Busch addressed the unique challenges of racing at his home track in Las Vegas, emphasizing the impact of the weather this time of year. He noted that the colder weather conditions typical of the spring race significantly affect track behavior compared to the fall race when the ground and track are hotter due to summertime heat. Busch during a media interaction said:

"We’re coming off of winter time for this race, obviously, cold weather, things like that. So the track reacts differently versus the fall race here, where you’re coming off of summertime; all the summer heat, the ground being hotter, the track being different, the bumps being different. So, just kind of getting accustomed to all of those things and getting reacclimated with all of that." [2:00 onwards]

The Nevada native pointed out that adapting to these temperature-related differences is crucial for success.