Kyle Busch makes feelings clear after failing to earn a “respectable” result in Chili Bowl

NASCAR driver Kyle Busch recently made his debut in the highly anticipated and iconic dirt midget racing event, the 2025 Chili Bowl Nationals. Following the events on Friday night, the former Cup Series champion reflected on his overall performance.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 car for Richard Childress Racing (RCR), is widely regarded as one of the sport's all-time greats. With 231 career victories across all NASCAR series, he ranks ninth on the all-time Cup Series wins list with 63 victories. Busch also holds the record for most wins in the Xfinity and Truck Series and captured the 2009 Xfinity Series championship with nine wins and 11 runner-up finishes in a dominant season.

Busch had a good run in the heats for Friday night's feature events, though he failed to qualify for the A-Main event. Following his exit, the RCR driver was interviewed by Matt Weaver where he reflected on his performance.

"I don't remember who asked me what I thought I could do or reach, but I thought the C-Main would be respectable. Didn't reach that. But it came from yesterday, the qualifier just not going the way I needed the qualifier to go. That would have helped us, that would have put us in probably the field today, you know, and that would have been overachieving expectations." Kyle Busch said (via Weaver's X handle).

On being asked what the ratio was between his excitement and the fun he had, Busch responded:

"I mean, I'm always pessimistic and glass half empty. It was fun. It was good. It was definitely learning experience. You know, I just wanted to show a little bit better. I felt like my learning experience here in just the 40 laps that I got yesterday and a day of running against the curb was a lot."

Meanwhile, Hyak Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified for the feature event and finished the race in P8.

Despite a disappointing run at the Chili Bowl, Kyle Busch is looking to bounce back in the 2025 Cup Series campaign, aiming for a strong performance following an underwhelming and winless 2024 season.

An overview of Kyle Busch's 2024 Cup Series campaign

Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch endured a challenging 2024 season, plagued by mechanical failures and on-track incidents. Despite the setbacks, the Las Vegas native fought hard to secure a playoff spot.

In the penultimate regular-season race, Busch finished P2 in RCR's #8 Chevy, narrowly trailing Harrison Burton, who claimed his first Cup Series win and Wood Brothers Racing’s historic 100th victory. Busch replicated his P2 finish in the final race before the playoffs but fell short of qualifying.

Ending the season with a 57-race winless streak, Busch now eyes redemption, aiming to kick off his 2025 Cup campaign with a triumph in the Daytona 500, scheduled for February 16 at 2:30 PM Eastern time.