“You really impressed the GOAT in my book”: Former NASCAR driver recounts when Dick Trickle “flatly” praised Kyle Busch

NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace recently praised Kyle Busch, echoing the words of legendary driver Dick Trickle. Busch, the #8 RCR driver, holds the distinction of being the most successful active NASCAR driver across all three national series.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch is among the sport’s most accomplished drivers. Competing for Richard Childress Racing, he has amassed 231 wins across all NASCAR series. Busch ranks ninth on the all-time Cup Series wins list with 63 victories and holds records in the Xfinity and Truck Series as well. His 2009 Xfinity Series title, secured with nine wins, showcased his dominance across multiple divisions.

In a recent episode of Kenny Conversation, Busch spoke about his idols while he was growing up as a NASCAR fan. Adding to that, Wallace shared:

"Now that you've talked about Mark (Martin), my hero, my mentor, the great Dick Trickle who's not with us anymore. Dick Trickle flat told me to my face that 'Kyle Busch is a racer.' He came to Wisconsin maybe and you really impressed the great Dick Trickle the greatest of all time in my book he said that you knew your race car and you were working on your race car," [8:50 onwards]

Meanwhile, After a tough season with RCR’s #8 Chevrolet, two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will be eager to bounce back in 2025. He will kick off his 2025 campaign with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2, aiming to break his 57-race winless streak.

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“Those questions are going to come up again”- NASCAR insider on why Kyle Busch needs to win in 2025

Kyle Busch is enduring the longest winless streak of his NASCAR career. Having gone winless last season, the two-time champion also missed the playoffs. However, many of his disappointing results stemmed from unfortunate on-track incidents rather than a lack of performance.

Recently, famed NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass outlined the reasons as to why the former champion needs to gear up and perform well this season.

“I mean, remember the middle of the year all the talk about, could he go back to Gibbs or what’s he going to do?” Pockrass said in an episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “And I think if he doesn’t win early those questions are going to come up again, and saying where will he be in 2026?”

“A lot of people thought, ‘Oh they’re going to change crew chiefs and stuff.’ But they didn’t change the team itself as much as they changed a lot of the infrastructure and some of the people behind the scenes,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Daytona 500 is scheduled for 16th February at 2:30 PM ET.