Kyle Busch addresses Richard Childress outburst after NASCAR Dover race finish

Richard Childress was not happy with how Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team finished this past Sunday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway. After Busch finished 11th, Childress went on the radio and said the following: “Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.” 

Seven days have since passed since Childress’ comments. Busch, speaking with the media Saturday ahead of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said that while he wasn’t at the shop much this week, he’s sure that several meetings took place involving Richard Childress Racing upper management. Busch added there are a “plethora of issues” holding them back as a race team.

Asked Kyle Busch what the followup was from Richard Childress' comments at Dover: He spent the week traveling so he wasn't at the shop much, but he expects there were plenty of meetings.

"It's not one thing. There's a plethora of issues, and it's not just RCR issues either."… https://t.co/DagHQDkmZo pic.twitter.com/HtWF0ejRkz

— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) July 27, 2025

“I can only speculate, but I’m sure there were plenty of meetings this week,” Busch told Steven Taranto of CBS Sports. “I’m not there every day — I was actually traveling every day this week, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to be at the race shop with anybody. [RCR president Mike] Verlander and Richard I’m sure had plenty of meetings with our engineering team in order to try to go over a plan of ‘OK, what can we do? Where are we at? What’s next? What have we improved on, what else can we improve on and where can we fill some of these gaps that we seem to be having when we go to these racetracks.’

“It’s not one thing. There is a plethora of issues, and it’s not just RCR issues either. We gotta figure it out, though.”

Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing searching for answers

Asked a follow-up if the other issues were a Chevrolet or a Next Gen car thing, Busch responded, “D, all of the above.” In looking at Busch’s tenure with RCR, the team has lacked the consistent speed to compete. When they’ve had speed, in-race mistakes have cost them.

Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, won three races in his first 15 starts with RCR. But since his win at Gateway in June 2023, he’s been absent from Victory Lane, the longest winless streak of his Hall of Fame career. Busch missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2012 and with five races left in the 2025 regular season, he’s 39 points below the postseason cutline.

Simply put, Busch likely needs a win to go playoff racing. Busch will start 12th in the Brickyard 400, a race he’s won twice in his career.