Kyle Busch has never had such a tumultuous season of NASCAR Cup Series competition.
Even when he misses the playoffs, suffers a championship hangover or doesn’t have the speed he’s used to having, he has always managed to win at least one race.
The closest Busch has ever been to going winless in a Cup Series season was in 2020, when he didn’t win until an incredibly weird playoff race at Texas that ended on a Wednesday. That race was the 34th of the season, and Busch came extremely close to seeing his streak vanish.
Four years later, Busch is now the sole record holder for the most seasons in a row with at least one victory at 19. However, 2024 has thrown so many curveballs at the two-time champion that it’s beginning to feel normal to see him make mistakes.
At Kansas on Sept. 29, Busch was leading with 33 laps to go — until he got into the wall while trying to put Chase Briscoe a lap down, sending his No. 8 Chevy spinning. A 19th-place finish was small consolation for a driver who has been put through the wringer this season.
With six races remaining in the season, here are the three tracks where Busch, 39, has the best chance to win for the first time since June 2023.
Talladega (Oct. 6)
The Cup Series’ next race may just be the one Busch is most likely to win. Busch won at the track in April of 2023, and while superspeedway racing is wildly unpredictable, Busch has been very fast on the drafting tracks so far in 2024. If Busch isn’t collected in “The Big One,” look for him near the front of the field when the chips are down.
Las Vegas (Oct. 27)
Busch was running solidly inside the top-five at Las Vegas in March before issues on pit road relegated him to a 26th-place finish. Busch is a previous winner at Las Vegas, and the No. 8 team has found some speed at the intermediate tracks as of late. The intangibles are also on his side — Las Vegas is Busch’s home track, and there would be no better venue for him to break the longest winless drought of his career than Sin City.
Phoenix (Nov. 10)
Phoenix was none too kind to Busch in March — he spun multiple times and finished 22nd — but don’t underestimate the powers of motivation. If Busch fails to win over the next five weeks, he’d enter Phoenix on a 56-race winless streak with only the one-mile championship venue left to keep his streak going. Busch is dangerous enough from a talent perspective, but when motivated, he ascends to new levels of speed. His team won’t be a favorite to win the race, but if any driver can pull a rabbit of his hat in the desert, it’s Busch.
–Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media