Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have been in the spotlight recently due to their renewed feud. It began ahead of the Kansas race weekend, when Hamlin made a blunt statement on Busch's winless streak, claiming maybe the latter no longer has what it takes to win.

Busch then hit back at his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, saying, "He’s been running his mouth lately, so he might get run into again. He’s been telling me that I’m washed up and I can’t drive anymore."

Rick Ware Racing competition director Tommy Baldwin recently commented on this new feud. While discussing the situation on the "Door Bumper Clear" podcast, he said:

"Look, Kyle has taken himself out of those positions and put himself in this position. He’s had the Hendrick ride, he’s had the Gibbs ride. He’s in an RCR ride that’s in the building process of trying to accomplish something, and it’s just not there yet."

Baldwin explained how the onus lies on Busch to lift himself and his team up amidst the criticism about his performance. "But again, he can’t get on Denny; he can't get on anybody. He’s the one that needs to do the work with his team. He has to be the leader, he has to be," added Baldwin.

While it is quite evident that the comments made by Denny Hamlin have been bothering Kyle Busch, he has yet to prove himself on the track.

Kyle Busch losing momentum at Richard Childress Racing

Kyle Busch last visited the victory lane in June 2023 at the World Wide Technology Raceway. The two-time NASCAR champion has since stood on seven podiums, but never on the top step.

Moreover, he has finished the last five races below 21st place. In the aforementioned podcast episode, co-host Freddie Kraft also backed Denny Hamlin's criticism of Kyle Busch.

"Anything that Denny said wasn’t wrong,” said Kraft. "He talked about the last couple years he didn’t run as well at Gibbs, and obviously, the first year he ran really well at RCR, but that was also the first year of the Next Gen, where people were just starting to figure this s*** out. Now we see the cream rise to the top."

While Kraft acknowledged that Busch gets fiery in such conversations, he highlighted that the RCR driver needs to be open to criticism.

Kyle Busch is currently 27th in the standings after nine races. With his contract expiring after 2026, he needs to step up to the challenge beginning with Talladega this weekend.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak