NASCAR great issues verdict on Kyle Busch Cup Series struggles

NASCAR great Mark Martin believes Kyle Busch only bears a small part of responsibility for his recent struggles.

Regular watchers of the Cup Series will know that it's been challenging times for the two-time champion, winless for the past two and a half seasons since his win at Gateway back in June 2023.

As a result, the 40-year-old has also missed two consecutive playoff campaigns, having previously been a lock in for over a decade.

Busch now heads into 2026 with question marks hanging over whether or not he and his team are capable of being serious challengers for victories, never mind championships.

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Kyle Busch 'way better' than he's showing

Those doubts recently sparked a fan question that was put to Martin, with the former NASCAR Cup star asked how Busch could go from ‘one of the best drivers’ to ‘not winning’ and if it was more an indictment on his talent or the racing package at Richard Childress Racing.

“It's not like they're not trying,” he explained, via Kenny Wallace Media. “But their [Richard Childress Racing] on-track performance is not where it needs to be. Number one, that’s the main thing, 100 percent, it’s what Kyle is driving.

“Now, Kyle has some influence on what he drives and so he’s a small part of that lack of performance, from that standpoint.

“But he won three races the first year on sheer driving talent, and also, their cars were closer to the front.

“He’s just so far from the front now that he has to overdrive and does overdrive his car when he gets within reach of something, and it’s just too much.

“He’s way better than he’s shown the last couple years.”

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