NASCAR 2026: Kyle Busch admits uncertainty over snapping Cup Series winless streak

NASCAR star Kyle Busch admits uncertainty over snapping Cup Series winless streak

Kyle Busch News Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET •By Graham Shaw

It’s been a while for NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch since he tasted Cup Series victory, but even he admits there is no certainty as to when the drought will end.

You have to go all the way back to June 4, 2023 to find the last time the 40-year-old two-time champion topped a Cup series podium, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.

Since then it has been tough sledding for the Richard Childress Racing star as he tries to recapture former glories. He would finish the 2025 season in a lowly 21st position in the Cup Series standings.

Now Busch is back again to try his luck in 2026 as he prepares for this weekend’s Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2.30pm ET, FOX) and he provided a brutally honest take on his struggles ahead of The Great American Race.

Kyle Busch on long winless streak

He told FOX: "I don't know how close we are to winning. I've got a new crew chief [Jim Pohlman], we haven't even really worked together yet at the race track, so it's going to take a bit of time to get acclimated to one and other, figure everything out, have Jim figure out these cars.

“We've been through a lot of sim sessions, we had the test at North Wilkesboro thankfully, so we learned some things. Not only about each other but him about the race car, what it likes and what it doesn't like, stuff like that."

New crew chief Jim Pohlman, what does he bring?

The hiring of Pohlman is the single biggest change for Busch as he heads into 2026, and he believes his new crew chief is bringing the right mentality.

"I think Jim's biggest thing is keeping people accountable, getting everybody in the race shop pulling the rope in the same direction, pushing them in order to dig deeper and work harder. It's not always just a 9-5 job.

“Racing in this business, especially at this level, you could be there 24 hours and still feel like you're behind. It's just the nature of what it's all like, and trying to get the most out of everybody."