Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin weren’t always good teammates back in the day at JGR. The tensions simmered and blew up in 2010, especially at the All-Star race. With a million dollars on the line, Hamlin threw in an aggressive block and ran Busch into the wall. Next thing you know, we heard Busch’s Rowdy version on the radio. “Somebody better keep me away from Denny Hamlin after this race. I am going to kill that motherf-cker. I had this race won.” It’s been almost two decades, and they’ve grown out to be one of the best in their respective era. But the fiery spark that once delivered wins for JGR is now resurfacing, and this time Rowdy has a chip on his shoulder.
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“80 percent of people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. In this instance, I don’t know that Denny Hamlin even knows what the hell he’s talking about. He can bash me all he wants. I can certainly make his life hell,” Busch said in response to Hamlin’s critics ahead of the Kansas race. But what exactly did Hamlin say to fire up Busch?
The JGR driver, while answering questions on his podcast, gave his two cents on Busch’s declining graph as a Cup driver. “We keep talking about this but the last couple of years [at Joe Gibbs Racing] was not good; it’s been like this for five years. You’re a Hall of Fame Mount Rushmore driver, and if you’re of the greatest, then carry better than your teammate that’s only won 10 races. I think he should be able to do that, but it’s not happening.” Now that warranted a response from the 2-time champion.
However, if you compare the two drivers since Busch left JGR, there’s some truth to what Hamlin’s saying.
Since 2023, Busch has just three Cup wins, and he’s now gone 100 races without a trip to victory lane. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who is the oldest active driver, has notched up 13 wins and nearly won his first championship last year in Phoenix. To Hamlin’s point, he’s demanding that Busch step up as a leader at RCR. And seeing his ex-teammate riled up, he had no clue how to react to his challenge.
“Not really sure what I’m supposed to do. I host a podcast and I have to answer questions about relevant topics. Should I just say I dunno, everything seems fine to me? Not sure where he felt I “bashed”. I’m walking a damn tight rope here,” Hamlin wrote on X. Surprisingly, he admitted that he’s nowhere near close to Rowdy’s talent. “I can’t hold his helmet talent-wise, but I think it’s not new.”
Now that the Kansas race is up next, it will be interesting to see how Busch responds on the track. More importantly, this has the potential to develop into a new rivalry, which is always good for the fans watching from the stands and TV. And there is more to his saga as Busch is technically racing to attract his new suitors. Just a reminder, he is in his contract year at RCR.
Possible landing spots for Kyle Busch post-RCR era in 2027
The end of this year is going to be chaotic with a lot of drivers looking for new rides, including Kyle Busch. So if things don’t work out for him with the No. 8 team at RCR, what are the possibilities for him?
This might sound like a bad idea, but we could see Busch signing an extension with RCR. After all, they’ve been together for 3 seasons now, and very few teams would want to sign a driver who’s struggling to win and is potentially looking at the end of his road in the Cup Series.
The next good option is Spire Motorsports. Apart from Carson Hocevar, they’ve not committed either Daniel Suarez or Michael McDowell to a long-term deal. And he sold his Truck Series team to Spire, so there’s a connection here and could turn out to be a Cup partnership.
Legacy Motor Club is another option, and they could certainly do with a big-name driver joining their team. A Toyota reunion and building the LMC program could prove to be an ambitious plan. Moreover, Jimme Johnson is making all the right moves and is going to add a third charter next season.
As things stand, there are a lot of ifs and buts on how Busch’s Cup future might shape up, and everyone is trying their best to make an educated guess.
