NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle Busch pinpoints troubling issues after rough weekend at Iowa

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson Tuesday 5 August 2025 02:00

Despite a busy weekend full of hard work, NASCAR star Kyle Busch had nothing to show for it coming away from Iowa Speedway.

After displaying strong pace early in practice on Saturday, things quickly unravelled for the two-time Cup Series champion, crashing his No. 8 Chevrolet into the wall and causing so much damage that he was forced to use a backup car for Sunday's race.

NASCAR HEADLINES: Denny Hamlin makes controversial claim as Joe Gibbs Racing star set for team switch

Jumping in the backup also meant starting at the very rear of the field for the Iowa Corn 350, and although some great strategy calls saw him finish the second stage up in fifth, Busch eventually came home in 20th position.

Speaking post-race, Busch outlined some of the frustrating issues that he was having with his car throughout, admitting that despite 'busting their behinds' his team simply did not have enough.

"We started the weekend in a deficit after going to a backup car on Saturday, and spent most of the day Sunday just battling for track position in our Chevrolet," the Richard Childress Racing driver explained.

"Our Chevy couldn’t turn in traffic, even with the freshest tires and dirty air didn’t help. We busted our behinds out there today, but didn’t have enough.”

Busch playoff hopes dwindling

As a result of his Sunday, Busch did make up small ground in his quest for a playoff spot in 2025.

However, the Richard Childress Racing driver still trails Chris Buescher, who occupies the last playoff spot at present, by 73 points, which, with three races to go, is a big deficit to overcome.

Of course, Busch can lock himself into the playoffs with a victory over those final three races, with events at Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona to come.

Here is how the full playoff picture looks at present:

Pos	Driver (Car No.)	Team	Wins	+/- to Cut Line	Playoff Points
1	Denny Hamlin (No. 11)	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	4	LOCKED IN	24
2	Kyle Larson (No. 5)	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	3	LOCKED IN	23
3	Christopher Bell (No. 20)	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	3	LOCKED IN	17
4	Shane van Gisbergen (No. 88)	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	3	LOCKED IN	17
5	William Byron (No. 24)	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	2	LOCKED IN	17
6	Chase Elliott (No. 9)	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	1	LOCKED IN	6
7	Ryan Blaney (No. 12)	Team Penske Ford	1	LOCKED IN	10
8	Chase Briscoe (No. 19)	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	1	LOCKED IN	7
9	Bubba Wallace (No. 23)	23XI Racing Toyota	1	LOCKED IN	7
10	Joey Logano (No. 22)	Team Penske Ford	1	LOCKED IN	7
11	Ross Chastain (No. 1)	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	1	LOCKED IN	6
12	Austin Cindric (No. 2)	Team Penske Ford	1	LOCKED IN	8
13	Josh Berry (No. 21)	Wood Brothers Racing Ford	1	LOCKED IN	6
14	Tyler Reddick (No. 45)	23XI Racing Toyota	0	+122	1
15	Alex Bowman (No. 48)	Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet	0	+63	0
16	Chris Buescher (No. 17)	RFK Racing Ford	0	+23	0
Playoff Cut Line
17	Ryan Preece (No. 60)	RFK Racing Ford	0	-23	2
18	Kyle Busch (No. 8)	Richard Childress Chevrolet	0	-73	0
19	Ty Gibbs (No. 54)	Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota	0	-87	0
20	AJ Allmendinger (No. 16)	Kaulig Racing Chevrolet	0	-118	0
21	Brad Keselowski (No. 6)	RFK Racing Ford	0	-121	2
22	John H. Nemechek (No. 42)	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	0	-127	0
23	Carson Hocevar (No. 77)	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	0	-131	0
24	Michael McDowell (No. 71)	Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet	0	-134	1
25	Erik Jones (No. 43)	Legacy Motor Club Toyota	0	-138	0
26	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47)	JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet	0	-176	0
27	Zane Smith (No. 38)	Front Row Motorsports Ford	0	-179	0
28	Austin Dillon (No. 3)	Richard Childress Chevrolet	0	-190	0
29	Justin Haley (No. 7)	Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet	0	-196	0
30	Todd Gilliland (No. 34)	Front Row Motorsports Ford	0	-207	0
31	Daniel Suárez (No. 99)	Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet	0	-211	0
32	Ty Dillon (No. 10)	Spire Motorsports Chevrolet	0	-226	0
33	Cole Custer (No. 41)	Stewart-Haas Racing Ford	0	-283	0
34	Noah Gragson (No. 4)	Stewart-Haas Racing Ford	0	-291	0
35	Riley Herbst (No. 35)	Rick Ware Racing Toyota	0	-305	0
36	Cody Ware (No. 51)	Rick Ware Racing Ford	0	-420	0

NASCAR Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Richard Childress Racing Iowa Corn 350

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