Kyle Busch issues clear RCR demand as NASCAR win drought continues

NASCAR star Kyle Busch has issued a clear demand to his Richard Childress Racing team as his win drought lingers on — work smarter, not harder.

Busch did taste victory in the NASCAR Truck Series at Atlanta earlier this season, but, he last won in the Cup Series in June 2023.

Indeed, going winless in 2024, Busch snapped his streak of being victorious in a Cup Series race for 19 consecutive seasons, and the first six rounds of the 2025 season have seen that drought continue.

Busch, though, doesn't believe that is due to a lack of effort at his Richard Childress Racing team, instead demanding that he and his colleagues work smarter, not harder.

“It’s definitely not due to lack of effort, that’s for sure,” Busch explained when talking to the media ahead of Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.

“Everybody works very hard; I know the long hours and everything that everybody does.

"The only thing I can really say is, fundamentally, it’s just work smarter, not harder. I think part of it has been better."

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How has Kyle Busch performed in 2025?

So far this campaign, Busch's best finish has been a P5 at Circuit of the Americas, averaging a finishing position of 18th across the opening six races of the season in the team's No. 8 car before Sunday's race at Martinsville.

Busch could well have won that race at COTA, too, having been very much in contention for the win until the latter stages in Texas, only to be passed late on by Christopher Bell before seeing his tire performance fall off a cliff.

Unfortunately for fans of the two-time champ, Busch once again went winless this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, finishing the Cook Out 400 in 17th.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway for throwback weekend, a track on which Busch won back in 2008 and has achieved seven top-five finishes.

READ MORE: NASCAR legend Kyle Busch makes shock retirement reveal at Martinsville

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