By Dale Earnhardt Jr. is supporting Kyle Busch who has yet to win a Cup Series race this year. On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt believes Busch is doing all the right things despite all the challenges he’s faced in 2024
“I have never worked with Kyle. I don’t know what he is physically like, but I’ve heard the guy is hands-on. Kyle Busch, I don’t believe is at fault because he’s not plugged in, not available, not accountable” Earnhardt said. “We know he’s talented, we know he can drive. I also believe he’s likely doing all of the things off the track that a driver is responsible for and maybe even more trying to figure out how they can get some momentum.
“He’s full of opinions. I could imagine what it might be like to be his teammate, I believe that he would be very vocal about things that he thinks they can do to get better. I say that because a lot of times when a driver gets into this situation, they disappear, they go off and they hide or they go to a comfortable place they distance themselves and it creates a bigger problem.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says Kyle Busch is ‘still locked in’
Earnhardt continued: “Man, it is when you run like s***, it is freaking hard to go into that shop. You’re embarrassed, you’re ashamed, you don’t know whether the team is believing in you or if they lost belief. You don’t know the next time you walk into that shop whether the shop’s going to still be believing in you or have they finally quit believing in you. That’s hard to go into the shop after all this struggle, and I believe that he’s very confident in himself and he’s still engaged, he’s still plugged in. It’s unfortunate, but I feel the pressure is on RCR (Richard Childress Racing).”
Busch, 39, has won at least one Cup Series race every season from 2005 to last year. So far in 2024, Busch has earned six top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes with no wins. On Sunday, Busch was wrecked by Corey LaJoie and suffered his fifth DNF (did not finish) of the year. To make the playoffs, Busch will need to win one of the last five races during the regular season.
