Kyle Busch has no plans of riding into the sunset just yet. The Richard Childress Racing driver recently extended his contract through to 2026, despite having struggled for race wins in the No. 8 Chevy. As things stand, ‘Rowdy’ is on an 80-race winless streak, with his last triumph coming at Gateway in June 2023. That feels like an eternity ago. But the two-time Cup Series winner isn’t giving up just yet, and is eager to carry on his legacy.

Meanwhile, his brother, Kurt Busch, will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Kyle Busch, who is also expected to join his elder brother amongst the all-time greats, couldn’t be happier and envious of his brother’s ‘retirement lifestyle’.

Kyle Busch gets a glimpse of retirement life

“I couldn’t be prouder of you,” said Kyle Busch, after NASCAR revealed that Kurt Busch, along with two others, will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The elder ‘Busch’ was the first winner of the ‘Chase for the Cup’ championship, and in 2006, joined an elite group of drivers who have won the championship in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions. While ‘Rowdy’ has ticked two out of three boxes so far, a Truck Series title continues to elude him, despite being the all-time record-holder for wins in both the Xfinity (102) and Trucks (67).

With work to be done, Kyle Busch bluntly rejected talks about hanging his helmet, despite his brother’s enviable post-retirement lifestyle away from the spotlight. He said on the NASCAR Live podcast, “Haven’t seen him (Kurt Busch) much; he’s travelling the world, living the retirement life, and having a good time while doing it. I guess I’m taking a little sneak peek into something that might be coming down my way here. Once retirement sets in, but man, I feel like I’ve got plenty of time before that happens. Ready to get back to racing, keep racing here for the next little while and join that chapter down a little bit later.”

With two races remaining before the playoffs begin, Kyle Busch has an outside chance of remaining in contention for the Bill France Cup at Phoenix Raceway. As things stand, he is 102 points below the cutline, which means nothing less than a win will be enough at Richmond or Daytona International Speedway to keep his championship hopes alive. Having finished runner-up at last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the veteran will look to do one better this time around.

Ideally, Busch might want to retire on a high. The Nevada-native has had an illustrious career and is widely considered to be one of the all-time greats of the modern era. Sure, results in the last two years haven’t been up to the mark, but many in ‘Rowdy Nation’ believe it’s just a blip in form rather than the racer being a shadow of his former self. Perhaps a change of scenery away from Richard Childress Racing might help, but as of now, the 40-year-old isn’t giving up on glory just yet.

Busch compares expectations at Joe Gibbs Racing and RCR

Kyle Busch spent the majority of his career at Joe Gibbs Racing. Having been forced to make way for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports, ‘Rowdy’ had a point to prove when he took the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota. And that’s where he built his reputation as a champion, winning the title in 2015, despite being ruled out of the opening 11 races due to injury, and in 2019, securing five wins in the process.

But for some reason, the results haven’t carried over at Richard Childress Racing. Comparing the two teams, Busch said, “At Gibbs, you’re expected to win. Like, if you’re not winning, then what are you doing? So when you lose out on close races or whatever, you get very frustrated, very mad, very angry. And those were always my bad moments that people hated me for. Now I’m in a different spot, and let’s call a spade a spade, we’re less competitive and not up front as much. So you’re just going with the flow and trying to work on things and make things better.”

While Kyle Busch is far from done, there’s no denying that he is in the twilight of his career. Perhaps he’ll assess his career after his contract ends with Richard Childress Racing in 2026 and decide his next career move accordingly. ‘Rowdy’ has earned his creature comforts, especially after spending two decades on the road. But given his form, the fire must be burning brighter than ever to turn his fortunes around before finally calling it a day.