Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a 'weird feeling' he knows Kyle Busch's next NASCAR team

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has predicted where two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will end up next.

Busch is in a contract year at Richard Childress Racing (RCR) having signed a short-term extension with the team last season, but so far, results in 2026 have been bleak.

After taking pole at the season-opening Daytona 500, things have gone rapidly downhill for the No. 8 team, with Busch achieving his worst result of the season at Kansas (35th) last time out.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Kyle Busch NASCAR future

Busch's poor results have left some questioning his future in the sport and at RCR, and speaking on his Dale Jr. Download podcast earlier this week, Earnhardt Jr. predicts that the two-time champion will move on from the team and make the switch to Spire Motorsports.

“My guess, if I had to predict what ends up happening, Kyle Busch ends up getting an opportunity that gets him back towards the front of the field,” Earnhardt Jr. said.

“I just got a weird feeling he’s gonna end up at Spire [Motorsports] for some reason...and they would probably absolutely take him.”

Earnhardt Jr. later continued: “I could see him getting over there. I think that he ends up getting in a decent car before it's all said and done.

"He's not gonna drive cars that are underperforming for the rest of his career. He's going to get in something, he's gonna find his way back to the front. He's gonna have a couple moments of, ‘Alright, I still can do this,’ proving it to himself and the rest of the world that he’s as good as he’s always been, or just as talented as he’s always been.

“But the time and hourglass is running out. Father time is undefeated.”

Kyle Busch's 2026 season so far

Earnhardt Jr.'s comments come after a particularly rough start to the year for Busch at Richard Childress Racing, where he has yet to finish inside the top 10 through the opening nine races.

Things are only getting worse, too. While Busch finished in the top 20 at three of the opening four races, his best finish over the next five was 21st at Martinsville, with his worst coming last time out at Kansas, as mentioned.

Those results leave Busch languishing in 27th spot on 133 points heading to Talladega - 77 points adrift of 'The Chase' spots.