Kyle Busch pinpoints the ‘ultimate’ key behind superspeedway success

Kyle Busch has pinpointed one key aspect necessary to dominate the superspeedways. The Richard Childress Racing driver will mark his 40th Cup Series start at the Talladega Superspeedway, and ahead of the battle, he outlined how communication plays a pivotal role in understanding rivals' "energy," which cannot be judged through rear-view mirrors.

The NASCAR Cup Series will race at the Lincoln, Alabama-based facility after a one-off midseason break due to Rockingham Speedway's return. Busch, a two-time champion of the series and the driver of #8 RCR Chevy, will enter the race with an over a year-long winless streak.

Busch has dominated the Talladega Superspeedway twice in his career. His first victory came in the 2008 season with Joe Gibbs Racing and in 2023 with RCR. However, since his last Talladega win, the Nevada native triumphed at only the 2023 Gateway Motorsports Park race.

Nonetheless, Busch is well-versed in running at the 2.66-mile tri-oval superspeedway and knows how crucial a spotter's role is on such tracks.

He explained that even though one can see in the rear-view mirror to observe the immediate rivals, a spotter can spot the energy flowing through a particular pack on the track and make calls for optimum utilization, something far-fetched for the drivers with the current equipment.

“Communication with your spotter is the ultimate. There’s nothing else that you really use as much as your spotter on speedway racing. You can use your mirrors and look in the camera and look behind you and whatnot. But, trying to figure out a way of being able to understand the energy that’s coming rows back behind you, the only way to get that is from your spotter," Kyle Busch said via Speedway Digest.

"When you’re in traffic and you’re three or four rows back, you’re trying to understand what the gaps are in front of you so you know how hard to push the guy in front of you to get your lane moving forward," he added.

The 39-year-old veteran is ranked 15th in the Cup Series standings.

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Kyle Busch explains how drafting has changed with NextGen cars

Kyle Busch- NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn

The Gen 7 or NextGen platform debuted at the 2022 Daytona 500. The move stemmed from the desire to increase the car's competitiveness, albeit with reduced horsepower. While the new product received mixed opinions from the paddock, the car's inability to maneuver through traffic and capitalize on the draft from the driver running ahead remains consistent.

Unlike the previous stock cars, which could benefit from the frontrunner's draft and "slingshot" their way to lead, Kyle Busch said the NextGen cars capitalize on the energy coming from behind. He outlined that one has to rely on the momentum of not one but multiple rivals to get the push required to draft.

“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 RCR driver will enter the Talladega race with a solitary top-5, four top-10s, and a DNF. The event would mark the tenth regular-season race.

It means that Kyle Busch, who is provisionally above the playoff elimination line, has 17 opportunities to reign supreme in a race and guarantee his place in the championship fight.