Kyle Busch reveals NASCAR clampdown responsible for starting winless streak

Kyle Busch has hinted that his career-long winless streak was kicked off by NASCAR clamping down on a loophole his team had found.

The two-time Cup Series champion won three of his first 15 races with Richard Childress Racing after moving over from Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2023 season, but hasn't returned to victory lane in over 100 starts since.

Speaking on Sean Hannity's podcast, Busch revealed that NASCAR warned the team over some of their methods – although he insisted that RCR were simply exploiting a 'gray area' in the rules.

Busch hasn't returned to the postseason since that first year with RCR, and looks likely to miss out once again as he currently sits all the way down in 27th in the points standings.

NASCAR TODAY: Hamlin suffers more overtime heartbreak as Busch slams 'boneheaded' moves

Busch reveals NASCAR warning over 'gray area'

The veteran racer revealed that it was after his third win of the 2023 season that NASCAR came calling on him and his team to warn them off their exploit, although he didn't reveal exactly what it was.

"In 2023 when I won those three races," he said, "after the third race that we won at Gateway, we got our hands smacked for some of the stuff that we were doing to the race car that NASCAR didn't like and said 'don't bring that back'.

"It wasn't anything, like, against the rules. It was just, you always exploit the gray area. So we exploited a gray area and we found something and we had an advantage."

Busch: RCR were ahead of the game

“[RCR] were ahead of everybody else," he continued. "And as everybody has learned this car, the little tricks of the trade, the little things that you’ve got to do, now the Gibbs’, the Penske’s and Hendricks’ have all got it all figured out and they’re the top teams, and we haven’t really come up with any advancements to it, and we’ve fallen behind."

He added: “I do [take it personally] because I was always that guy who felt like I could make a difference. Like, I could be the difference-maker. I could go out there, and I could drive that car past its limit and make it go faster and pass the other guys that I felt like I was better than.

"And now I feel like any time that I drive past the limit of this new car, it’s the Next Gen car we’ve had in the Cup Series for five years, or whatever, I spin the damn thing out. Like, you can’t overdrive this car because it’s so on edge. There’s just not a lot more for me to get out of the race car, so I feel stuck with the car that I have.”