Kyle Busch is one of the best NASCAR drivers of his era as a two-time Cup Series championships with the most combined wins in the national series (232) in history. Just weeks shy of his 40th birthday and searching for his first win since the Enjoy Illinois 300 in 2023, Busch recognizes some of the great talents on the track today.
Busch has been close to that elusive win multiple times this season and he arrives at Homestead-Miami with 58 laps led, sixth most in the Cup Series. Often racing near the front of the field, competing with some of the best NASCAR drivers who are more than a decade his junior, a few names have impressed him the most.
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In an interview with Kevin Harvick for FOX Sports, Busch highlighted Kyle Larson and William Byron as the “cream of the crop” among the best NASCAR drivers right now.
“The cream of the crop is Kyle or William with this (Netx Gen) car. I would say those two are the guys that are most competitive each and every week. We try to rely on them a lot. Randall [Burnett] got a good relationship with the engineer on the 24 (Byron).” They went to school together. I’ve got a really good relationship with Rudy [Fugle]. He worked at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) for 10 years.”
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The numbers certainly back up Busch’s belief in Larson and Byron. Over the last 36 races, per DriverAverages.com, Byron has the second-best average finishing position (11.8) and he’s tied with Larson for the second-most top 5s (15). Meanwhile, Larson has the most laps led (1,548) with a 390-lap advantage over the second-closest driver (Christopher Bell) and he’s tied with Bell for the most Cup Series wins (five) over that 36-race stretch.
Byron (27 years old) and Larson (32 years old) are also critical to NASCAR’s future, likely to remain two of the biggest faces in racing for the next seven-plus years. Fittingly, Busch’s comments come ahead of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami with the NASCAR odds having Larson (+400) and Buron (+700) among the favorites.
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While Busch has been racing well this season, his first win in nearly two years is unlikely to come at Miami. He hasn’t finished inside the top five at Homestead-Miami in years and there could be a very real chance his winless streak extends to 63 races.