From 2005-2023, Kyle Busch found his way to Victory Lane at least once every season. He became arguably the most hated driver in NASCAR during that time period, the majority of which he spent driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

But during the 2023 season, Busch experienced a shift within the fanbase. Speaking with Sean Hannity of FOX News in a “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” interview released Tuesday, Busch said that he could see more fans pulling for him once he left JGR/Toyota and joined Richard Childress Racing/Chevrolet.

“I’m the third-oldest statesman on the tour right now, but when I was with M&M’s and Toyota and driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, I was public enemy number one. That was just sort of my persona. I leaned into it, I wore the black hat. I was winning all the time, so you could play with the fans. You could say stuff to them to kind of rile them up and be that villain, right?” Busch said. “And then I moved over to Richard Childress Racing. I joined Team Chevy, and instantly there was kind of a switch, like a little bit of a flip of fans, of haters, that were like, ‘I’ll pull for Kyle now, he’s in a Chevy.’ And I was like, ‘OK, this is good, you know, I’ll take it.’

“And then I won three races that year. We ran OK, and more people kind of were like, ‘Yeah, we’re pulling for Kyle.’ And now, unfortunately, I didn’t win a race last year. Last year was the first year that I hadn’t won a race in NASCAR in 19 years.”

Busch got off to a hot start with RCR, winning three races in his first 15 starts. Since then, nothing much has gone right for Busch and the No. 8 team. Over 100 races have passed since Busch last took the checkered flag in June 2023. This season, he sits a shocking 27th in the points standings.

Busch set an all-time NASCAR record in 2023 by going 19 consecutive seasons with a win in the Cup Series, breaking a tie with seven-time champion Richard Petty. That streak meant a lot to Busch, and it deeply upset him when it came to an end.

“It does, because it was the record,” Busch said when Hannity asked if it pissed him off. “Richard Petty had the record at 18 seasons. I set it at 19 seasons. And so now this year, I haven’t won a race yet this year either, but people are like, I wouldn’t say they’re dying for me to win, but they’re pulling for you. They’re pulling for me.

“They’re like, ‘Man, we hated this guy, we never wanted to see him win another race.’ And now they’re like, ‘We’ll eat those words. We want to see this guy win another race.’ So I feel like public perception has changed.”

Kyle Busch and the Next Gen car do not mix well

Right now, it would be considered a surprise if Busch got to Victory Lane anytime soon. That’s the current state of affairs for the future Hall of Famer, who hasn’t been able to adjust as well to the Next Gen car. Now in year five of the Gen-7, Busch admitted the car doesn’t suit his strengths as a driver.

“I was always that guy that felt like I could make the difference. I could be the difference maker. I could go out there, and I could drive that car past its limit and make it go faster and pass the other guys I felt like I was better than,” Busch said. “Now I feel like anytime I pass the limit of this new car… I just spin the damn thing out. You can’t overdrive this car because it’s so on edge.

“There’s just not a lot more for me to get out of the race car, so I feel stuck with the car that I have. Everybody goes to the racetrack with the car that they have, but now you’re starting to see the top-five guys are the same top-five guys every week. Sixth through 10th is the same sixth through 10th every week.”