Kyle Busch’s slide in the Next Gen era has been a jaw-dropping plot twist in NASCAR’s recent storylines. For over a decade, Busch was the driver everyone feared, a chameleon who could tame any track, any car, with a blend of raw speed, fearless aggression, and an almost supernatural knack for reading a car’s limits. In the Gen 5 “Car of Tomorrow” and Gen 6 eras, he was untouchable, thriving on their hypersensitive handling that demanded elite car control. But the Gen 7 car, introduced in 2022, has flipped that script.

Its stiffer independent rear suspension, low-profile tires, and symmetrical body have dulled the feedback drivers like Busch once lived by, making it tougher to sense when the car’s about to break loose. The numbers tell a brutal story. Busch’s win totals and average finishe

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