NASCAR insider reveals Kyle Busch 'jealous' of Cup Series rival

Former NASCAR driver turned analyst Carl Edwards has revealed that Kyle Busch was jealous of Denny Hamlin following Sunday's Cup Series race.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway proved to be one of the most exciting races of the season so far, culminating in a late battle between Hamlin and William Byron for the lead.

Hamlin and the No. 11 team eventually celebrated the victory, with Hamlin bringing back his iconic crowd taunt after taking the black and white checkered flag despite a previous promise to his Dad that he'd retire it.

"Daddy, I'm sorry but...I beat your favorite driver folks," Hamlin said to the crowd at Michigan, met with a mixture of cheers and boos.

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He did it again. 🤭 pic.twitter.com/iEuki6SsBY

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 8, 2025

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Kyle Busch jealous of Denny Hamlin at Michigan

Following Hamlin's post-race interview, Prime Video cut back to Danielle Trotta, Carl Edwards, and Corey LaJoie for analysis.

Interestingly, before getting into Hamlin's win, Edwards revealed that Busch had just passed them as Hamlin was taunting the crowd, and that he was jealous of the No. 11 driver.

“First thing, Kyle Busch walked by, he goes, man, it's so fun when you can win and mess with the crowd," Edwards explained on Prime Video.

“I mean, he is jealous of him.”

Busch himself has not tasted victory for quite some time, with his last win having come in June 2023 at Gateway in what was his first season for Richard Childress Racing.

Since then, Busch has finished second on three occasions, and inside the top five 12 times, but has just been unable to get another victory over the line.

Busch also had another reason to be jealous of Hamlin on Sunday, too, with the No. 11 driver separating himself from Busch as Joe Gibbs Racing's most-winningest driver ever.

Previously, Busch and Hamlin were tied on 56 JGR wins at the top of the leaderboard, but Hamlin now stands alone in first place with 57 JGR victories.

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