Kyle Busch exposes NASCAR’s dismissive treatment of his suggestion on NextGen’s flaws: “In one ear, out the other”

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was recently featured in a pre-race interview with Frontstretch media on YouTube. During the interview, Busch opened up about how the governing body dismissed his suggestions for improving the racing experience.

The #8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver highlighted that the sanctioning body has made new rules about the rear end of the cars to keep them on the track and prevent teams from going "crazy" with different setup changes to get the back of the car down. Continuing further, Busch explained:

"It's just that the cadence of the race isn't very good, and that's not very fun. It's really hard to get runs or create any sort of separation, especially with the fuel savings and all that sort of stuff. A shorter time on pit road is how you pass guys, and that's no fun. So there's definitely an issue there. I've made my suggestions, and (it just goes) in one ear, out the other," Kyle Busch explained. [00:22 onwards]

The Las Vegas native has been competing in the Cup Series as a full-time driver since 2005. He competed for Hendrick Motorsports for three seasons before switching to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008. Busch clinched both his Cup Series championships with the team, and after spending over a decade, he moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023. Since then he has been struggling to secure a win and is currently on a 66-race winless drought.

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NASCAR champion Kyle Busch highlighted how drafting has changed since the introduction of NextGen cars

The NextGen cars debuted in NASCAR in 2022 at the Daytona 500. The governing body aimed to increase the car's competitiveness on the track with reduced horsepower, and the decision got mixed reactions.

Driving the NextGen car, Kyle Busch found out that the cars capitalize on the energy coming from behind, and the driver has to depend on the momentum of multiple vehicles to get the push required for drafting.

“The draft is a big deal, and honestly the energy in the draft now is not necessarily coming from ahead of you; it’s more so coming from behind you. Two, three, four, five cars behind you is where that energy really develops, and you get pushed forward from that energy. So, the draft is different than what it used to be. Years ago, you would suck up to the guy in front of you and slingshot past him and make him move that way. Now, you’re really relying on everything happening behind you and building from behind," Kyle Busch said via Speedway Digest.

The Richard Childress Racing driver ranks 15th on the Cup Series driver's points table with 200 points. He secured four top-ten finishes and one top-five finish, which was at the Circuit of the Americas, where he qualified eighth and finished fifth. Additionally, he qualified second for the upcoming Talladega Superspeedway race scheduled for Sunday, April 27, 2025.