Kyle Busch hit with costly speeding penalty ahead of Stage 2 at Bristol

Kyle Busch‘s troubles on pit road have carried over to Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. This time, it was a self-inflicted mistake for the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Busch was caught speeding off pit road on the first stop of the race, which came at the end of Stage 1. It had been a struggle for Busch to make an impact in Stage 1 and now he’s back in 21st.

Such has been the story for Busch often times over the past calendar year. His team’s struggles on pit road are well-documented, and this only adds to it.

Kyle Busch struggling early at Bristol

Despite this latest hiccup, Busch and the No. 8 team have been better this season. Busch has tallied four top 10s in eight races, having led 58 laps. He came into Sunday’s race 15th in the points standings.

Things are better. That being said, it’s not good enough for a driver as accomplished as Busch.

“Vegas, we were fast,” Busch said last month. “I felt like we were legit a top-four car [and] let the race play out. Then, obviously, Homestead was a complete miss. It looked identical to last year. You could replay the 2024 and 2025 Homestead [races] and see the Hendrick cars all having some pretty good speed, the Trackhouse and RCR cars running in the back. We’re literally passing each other for 30th on the racetrack. That’s not good.

“There’s something to be said for that and I’m not exactly sure what.”