For the first time, Kyle Busch has not won a race over the course of a NASCAR Cup Series season.
Busch came into the 2024 season with wins in every year from 2005 to 2023 — a record streak of 19 consecutive campaigns with at least one victory.
But a tumultuous 2024 season came to an end with a 21st-place finish at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, ending Busch’s record streak just shy of two decades.
Busch missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and turned in the worst average finish of his career since his rookie season of 2005.
It was a season encapsulated by struggle for Busch, who came on strong at the end of the regular season but fell off in the season’s final weeks.
Busch had four straight top-seven finishes — including three top-fives — from the 24th race of the year at Michigan to the 27th race of the year at Atlanta, but that was his best stretch of the season.
Busch came closest to victory at Atlanta on Feb. 25, when he finished third in a three-wide photo finish that saw Daniel Suarez take the victory. He finished second to Harrison Burton at Daytona on Aug. 24 and also fell one spot short in the Southern 500 a week later. A win in either race would’ve put Busch in the playoffs.
Busch and the No. 8 team go into 2025 looking to regain the speed they showed over the first half of 2023 when Busch won three races over the first half of the season.
