Kyle Busch reflects on tough NASCAR Cup season: ‘It’s been a lot of sleepless nights’

Kyle Busch may be competing for the chance to win a third NASCAR Cup Series championship as the summer turns to fall, but it has not been easy.

Busch picked up a victory on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year, helping him clinch a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. However, the NASCAR star who has 60 wins in his career on the circuit is still hoping to have a team for 2023. His contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, who he has been with since 2008, ends at the end of the season, and he may have to find a different team.

“It’s been hard as hell. It’s been a lot of sleepless nights figuring out what your future is and all that sort of stuff,” Busch explained to NBC Sports on Saturday, a day before he competed at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR race. “Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well, you’ve made plenty of money, you’re fine, you don’t have anything to worry about. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s true, but you still want to do what you love to do, right?’ … I’m in the same boat.

“I’m a racer. I’ve only ever known how to race. Nothing else. Trying to do other business projects and things like that, but none of them have really like blown up and taken off. So it has been hard, and figuring out all of that is certainly tough. The last time I went through this (changing rides) was 15 years ago, and it was a learning experience. It was hard then, too, but it was nothing like now. Then it was just me, myself and I.

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“I didn’t have Samantha (Busch’s wife). I didn’t have a son. I didn’t have a daughter. All I had was an agent that was helping me. Now, I’m kind of on my own doing it, along with Samantha and the family, but going through many of the same things. It’s way, way harder because now you have Kyle Busch Motorsports (a Camping World Truck Series team) that you’ve got to think about. You’ve got a building that you’ve got to pay off. You’ve got a building note and all that sort of stuff. So there’s a lot, a lot, a lot of pieces and that’s why it’s not so simple.

“If you look at each aspect of everything of my life, which some of you may not know or may not fully know, there’s just a lot. So, trying to take care of all those pieces and make sure everything goes as it was or as it has been the last few years would certainly be nice.”

Busch has not ruled out a return to Joe Gibbs Racing but admitted he wanted to join a team where he felt like he had a shot to win races.

He finished 32nd in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen.