Will Kyle Busch Ever Reach His True Potential in NASCAR?
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch is a top-tier NASCAR Cup Series driver. But just how good would he be if he put all of his focus on NASCAR’s top-level series? Will he ever reach his true potential?
Kyle Busch has been, is currently and likely will continue to be one of the top drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. But while he won the championship in 2015, that was as a result of the playoffs, as he only raced in 25 of the 36 races that season thanks to a broken leg he sustained at Daytona. And while his win total of 38 in the playoffs era is good for 2nd highest behind only seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, he may not have reached his full potential in the Cup Series yet. In fact, there’s a chance he may never do so. Here’s why.
In addition to competing full-time in the Cup Series, Busch also races in the Xfinity and Truck Series and wins there all the time, essentially taking away possible victories for young and up-and-coming drivers and redirecting his focus towards lower series. Sure, a number of full-time Cup Series drivers also compete in the Xfinity and Truck Series, but no one is more known for and better at it than Kyle Busch.
Busch leads the all-time Xfinity Series wins list by nearly twice as many wins as the next highest driver with 88 wins, and 83 of those wins have come during his time as a full-time Cup Series driver. He also sits 2nd on the all-time Truck wins list with 48 victories, trailing 1st place Ron Hornaday Jr. by only three wins. Of those 48 wins, every single one of them has come during his time as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver.
More from Kyle Busch
- NASCAR: Darrell Wallace Jr. calls Kyle Busch’s comments stupid
- NASCAR responds to Kyle Busch’s marketing campaign remarks
- NASCAR: Does Kyle Busch have a point, or is he just complaining?
- NASCAR: Ryan Blaney rips Kyle Busch for his recent remarks
- NASCAR: Kyle Busch not thrilled with young driver marketing campaigns
Like I said above, other full-time Cup Series drivers also drive in the Xfinity and Truck Series, so saying that this fact alone hinders Kyle Busch would not be accurate. However, his statistics in those two lower series stand well above the other drivers’, which is what is alarming.
In his 13-year career as a full-time Cup Series driver, Kyle Busch has more wins in the Xfinity Series and in the Truck Series than he does in the Cup Series, and that is despite being one of the best Cup Series drivers of this era. His combined win total in the Xfinity and Truck Series as a full-time Cup Series driver is nearly three and a half times higher than his win total in the Cup Series. This season alone, he has two wins in five races in the Xfinity Series and two wins in four races in the Truck Series and is winless through 18 Cup Series races.
Just how good would Kyle Busch be if he didn’t spend so much time focusing on the Xfinity and Truck Series and put more focus on the Cup Series? Is there a chance that his abundant participation in those lower two series has prevented him from focusing on the Cup Series, which in turn has prevented him from reaching his full potential as a NASCAR driver? Sure, he is great in the Cup Series as is, but just how much greater could he be?
All of those statistics about Busch’s success in NASCAR’s two lower series bring forward the idea of NASCAR potentially introducing more limits on full-time Cup drivers competing in Xfinity and Truck races. While this would take away Busch’s chance to add to his historic win totals in both of those series, it may help him focus more on the Cup Series and become more of a contender than he already is, and it may open up the ability for him to truly reach his full potential. It may actually be the only way for him to reach his true potential in the Cup Series because he doesn’t look like he is going to stop competing in the Xfinity or Truck Series anytime soon.
Next: Kyle Busch is the Villain That NASCAR Needs
Do you think Kyle Busch focusing solely on the Cup Series would affect his driving in a positive way? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Finally, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.