Kyle Busch takes wife Samantha and family out for Chicago sightseeing as battle for playoff intensifies

Before the adrenaline-packed Cup Series race at Chicago Street Course kicks off, Kyle Busch took his wife Samantha and their children for an outing in the city. The Richard Childress Racing driver comes off three consecutive DNFs, which have further slashed his playoff odds.

The street course has marked its return to the NASCAR calendar after the promising response to its maiden race last year. The qualifying run is slated for 1.30 p.m. ET today (July 6). The drivers are already in the windy city with their teams, and Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen will enter the circuit as the defending victor.

Kyle Busch, however, will look to improve his playoff chances during the 20th Cup race, considering only seven stints are left before the Round of 16 chart is made. The last five weeks were saddening for the RCR driver as he fell victim to four DNFs. The #8 Chevy driver has collected two top-5s and five top-10s so far this season and is currently placed 19th in the playoff picture.

Ahead of the Grant Park 165, Kyle Busch, his wife Samantha, and children Brexton and Lennix Key went sightseeing in the city. The Nevada native posted a series of images on his X account, including one of a stroll with Lennix and from near the famous Cloud Gate.

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Kyle Busch's season witnessed a drastic downfall after a poor showdown at Darlington

Kyle Busch had a slow start to the season with a solitary top-5 finish in his first five starts. However, he later regained momentum and bagged another top-5 along with multiple top-10s. Yet, after a dismal 27th-place finish at Darlington Raceway, the RCR driver has seen a drastic slump in his performance.

Several unwanted happenings have ruined Busch's hopes of a promising outcome. During the Iowa race, multiple issues like a misaligned skew, the power steering belt blowing up and other mechanical problems resulted in a DNF for the #8 Chevy.

At Nashville Superspeedway, Busch got wrecked out by the Hendrick Motorsports duo Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. As the pack accelerated during the third overtime restart, Larson's throttle didn't fire while Elliott's did and Kyle Busch got clipped between the two, spinning out on the spot.

The 39-year-old has succumbed to a poor showing on multiple weekends despite having a car capable of running with the contenders. Since his eighth-place finish at Kansas Speedway nine race weekends ago, the two-time Series champion hasn't been able to come home with a single top-10, let alone a race win.

Neither does Kyle Busch hold a stage win that awards 1 playoff point nor does he boast a race win that guarantees the Cup driver's spot in the playoffs, provided there are 16 or fewer victors. However, if there are more than 16, the top 16 proceed to the playoffs.