Richard Childress ace Kyle Busch carries Bristol curse into short track showdown

Kyle Busch, once considered the king of Bristol Motor Speedway, enters this weekend’s short-track showdown with a string of forgettable performances in the Next Gen era. Now driving the No. 8 for Richard Childress Racing, the veteran driver will attempt to break the so-called 'Bristol curse' on Sunday, April 13.

Kyle Busch’s love affair with Bristol began well before his current dry spell. In his 37 NASCAR Cup Series starts at the venue, the two-time Cup champion has eight wins at the track, more than any active driver, but none have come since 2019. The Las Vegas native also has 15 top-five finishes and has led 2,597 laps in the Food City 500.

Kyle Busch (18) celebrates winning the 2019 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Source: Imagn

Moreover, in 2009, he swept Bristol in both spring and fall races. In his 14 years with Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008, he dominated the short track in his #18 Toyota Camry equipment, showcasing his skills on high banks and chaotic traffic of the half-mile bullring. But things have changed dramatically since the introduction of the Next Gen car.

Busch’s five most recent starts at Bristol underscore the stark contrast between his legacy and his current slump. He has finished outside the top 20 in his last five Bristol outings since 2021, leading a total of five laps in those races. He has also qualified outside the top ten in four of those five races. The speed that once made him a threat at the short track has abandoned him, and a lack of setup advantage has made the track far less forgiving for the #8 crew.

Smoke blows from Kyle Busch's #18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's Toyota engine in the 2022 Bass Pro Shops. Source: Getty

The Richard Childress Racing veteran has a 14.5 average finish on the speedway, which goes up to 26 in his last four attempts since February 2022. This performance reflects in other short tracks as well. His last win at Bristol in 2019 was his last short-track victory as well. Despite being the winningest driver in NASCAR today, he is currently winless in 65 Cup starts and 32 short-track races.

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Kyle Busch reflects on his recent struggles at short tracks in the Next Gen car

While Bristol has been a challenging track for NASCAR's winningest driver, other short tracks have not helped his cause either. Kyle Busch has a short track average finish of 12 in his career, which drastically came down since the introduction of the Next Gen car.

In a candid interview ahead of his Martinsville race this year, Busch reflected on the short-track issues plaguing the entire Cup field with the Next Gen platform. When asked if the Gen 7 car has improved his performance, he responded (via Frontstretch):

"No, the racing has definitely not gotten better with the Next Gen at short tracks. Why that is we don't know. We’ve tried different aero packages, we've tried different tires. I think it’s the similarity in all the parts and pieces and everybody being the same…Eventually, everybody is going to figure out how to attack this car, and what makes it go fast." [1:42 onwards]

Kyle Busch added that the increasingly uniform setups across teams, like the one RCR borrowed from another outfit for Vegas, have leveled the playing field to a frustrating degree. For a driver like Busch, who thrives on edge and racecraft, this parity removes the advantage he once carved out at Bristol.

Former racers Kenny Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have echoed similar concerns regarding the Next Gen car. Joe Gibbs Racing's former #11 crew chief Chris Gabehart talked about the issue after last year's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, saying:

"It's too easy to drive. They are too close. And you're not going to ask for much better race. I'm sorry, you're not. The bottom was good, the middle was good, the top was good, but they're all separated by .0 nothing. And physics is a buffer. And, you know, these are the world's best stock car teams and drivers. If you don't give them enough ways to separate themselves, that's what you're going to see...the days of the old Bristol are over." (1:20 onwards)

For a driver whose Bristol resume rivals the greats, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough, this winless streak doesn’t sit well.

Whether it’s the uniformity of the Next Gen car or the team transition to RCR, Kyle Busch’s current Bristol form is miles away from his past dominance. But, if there’s one place where Busch can silence doubters, it’s at Bristol Motor Speedway next week, where he once ruled as “The King of Thunder Valley.”