A 25th-place finish at Bristol has now pushed retirement talk into the spotlight, and Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back with his response.

Hamlin clarified that Busch's poor performance is a multi-year trend rather than a temporary slump.

Hamlin discussed the five-year struggle on his Action Detrimental podcast. “Things are not going well in the Kyle Busch camp. This is not new. We keep talking about this… This is not, my gosh, where is this coming from? This has been like this for five years.”

Hamlin feels that Busch’s struggles aren’t only due to the RCR car, as fans have been suggesting, but that even his last two years at JGR didn’t work out. He believes it may be time to bring the partnership to an end.

“They can’t stay there. Like, it just isn’t working.” The solution, according to Hamlin, is: “You retire then.”

Busch’s former teammate questioned what big team would hire him, noting that at least one would not and that Kyle is 40.

For fans who think Busch’s 101-race winless streak is solely down to the Richard Childress Racing car, Hamlin said that expecting Busch to return to Victory Lane regularly is unrealistic and will only lead to disappointment.

Hamlin said that RCR isn’t where it needs to be, but added that a “Hall of Fame Mount Rushmore driver” should carry the car better than his teammate Austin Dillon, who is just seven points behind Busch.

Hamlin Talks Up Busch’s Competitiveness

While Hamlin painted a harsh reality of Busch’s situation, including saying that Busch is still searching for a way to get speed out of the Next Gen car, which has been around since 2022, he also showed that he still respects Busch and his competitiveness.

Despite a 101-race winless streak, Busch still has the most wins among active drivers.

Speaking on Busch’s spirit, Hamlin said, “I hate seeing it because Kyle is a competitor who hates losing. I mean, the guy would have the worst attitude when he runs second.”

He further added, “That’s how much of a competitor he was. I know it’s eating him alive, how bad he’s running every week.”

Hamlin also made a clear admission of Busch’s talent: “I can’t hold that guy’s helmet talent-wise.”

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav