"It's a different beast I haven't been able to tame": Kyle Busch gets real about his struggles with NASCAR's Gen7 cars and safety issues

If there is one driver who is having trouble controlling NASCAR Next Gen cars, it is Kyle Busch. The Richard Childress Racing driver has been going through a rough patch lately, and the Gen-7 cars surely did not help. As he embarked on his 21st season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Busch once again discussed the difficulties he faced with the Next Gen cars.

Ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch touched upon the hardships he faced with the Gen-7 cars in the last few years. Following the introduction of the Next Gen cars, Busch only won four races in 107 outings. The RCR driver initially wanted to avoid the question with "no comment," but then he unraveled how he wasn't able to 'tame the beast.'

“It's a different animal," Busch told Kyle Dalton of Athlon Sports. "It's a different beast. And for me, I would say that I haven't been able to tame it as much as I was able to the older version cars. There's definitely still some things with this car that I would like to see different." (0:02-0:18)

However, the 39 year old hailed the stiffness of the car and the safety it provided during races. The Gen-7 car uses a steel tube frame with an integral safety roll cage as its chassis, which makes it superiorly safer. Speaking about this, he added,

"The rollover factor and the stiffness of the car and the capsule of which the driver sits in is obviously the integrity, it's very good.” (0:44-0:50)

NASCAR introduced the Gen-7 or the Next Gen cars from the 2022 Cup Series season. This was the direct predecessor of the Generation 6 car. The car comes with a 5.86L Naturally aspirated FR layout engine and has 5 forward speeds + 1 reverse sequential manual transmission.

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Kyle Busch pointed out 'wrist injuries' caused by Next Gen cars

During his interview with Dalton, Kyle Busch also mentioned how the Next Gen cars have been a menace for drivers' wrists. Multiple drivers including Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch(concussion), and Ryan Blaney faced the issue.

Kyle Busch (8) during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. - Source: Imagn

Speaking about this, the RCR star said,

“I've heard of a lot more wrist injuries from drivers that we've had just from crashes and stuff like that with the rack steering. Hitting something or hitting the wall or whatever, just jerking the wheel out of your hands and hurting your wrist. I had that last year. Blaney had that last year or the year before. A couple other drivers have had that as well, too. So it's tough."

The Next Gen cars debuted in the 2022 Daytona 500, and the upcoming race on Sunday at the Daytona International Speedway will mark their fourth year in the sport.