NASCAR 2026: Denny Hamlin weighs in on Kyle Busch situation as winless streak nears 100

Denny Hamlin has weighed in on Kyle Busch's increasingly bleak situation at Richard Childress Racing.

Busch comes into this weekend's race at Martinsville at risk of extending his career-long winless streak to 100 races, and in a contract year which could end his disappointing partnership with his current team.

The two-time Cup Series champion won three of his first 15 races with RCR after joining the team in 2023, but has failed to add to that tally in approaching three years since.

Busch struggled again at Darlington last weekend, limping to a 21st place finish. He and team-mate Austin Dillon are two of just nine drivers to start every Cup race this year and fail to secure a single top-ten race finish.

Hamlin, however, refused to put all the blame for Busch's struggles on his organization – suggesting that his long-time Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate is 'searching' as he scrabbles in the back half of the pack.

NASCAR TODAY: Denny Hamlin issues retirement update and Kyle Busch talks Cup Series future

Hamlin: I can't put problems all on RCR

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast on Monday, Hamlin said: “It is noteworthy that last week, Austin Dillon was not as bad as Kyle Busch, right?

"I think we really gotta put everything into perspective and yes, the organization is probably not where they wanted to be, but if one of them is running last and the other is running 16th… if Kyle is great like we all believe he is, then he should be eighth, but he wasn’t.

“I think he’s searching right now. It’s just my opinion, but he’s just trying to figure something out, and I don’t know, I can’t put it all on RCR. Yeah, they’re not race-winning teams right now. They don’t have that pace, but they don’t have 30th-place pace. That’s something that driver-individual team has a role in.”

Kevin Harvick has also warned that the wheels may be coming off for the Busch/RCR partnership, saying this week: "I think when you look at Kyle Busch, one of our sport's greatest drivers that we've ever seen behind the wheel, and I think this Gen 7 car, when he first went to RCR, they won a couple races right off the bat.

"Ever since halfway through that first year at RCR, it's slowly deteriorated. We all want to see hope for Kyle Busch. We want to see him in victory lane. We want to see RCR in victory lane. But they just don't have the speed. You can see the frustration.

"This is a contract year for Kyle Busch, and I'm a little worried, as to how this whole thing ends with Kyle Busch and RCR. So, a lot of pressure on Kyle to go out and perform, and right now they just have no performance on the racetrack."