Kyle Busch has not won a NASCAR Cup Series race since 2023, but his old rival Kevin Harvick is hoping to see the former champion back in Victory Lane soonKevin Harvick hopes to see Kyle Busch back on victory laneKevin Harvick hopes to see Kyle Busch back on victory lane(Image: Getty)

NASCAR icon Kevin Harvick is rooting for his former rival Kyle Busch, whom he once “hated,” to return to victory lane following a two-year drought in the Cup Series.

The Richard Childress Racing driver’s most recent triumph came in Illinois in 2023, but the two-time Cup champion hasn’t crossed the finish line first since then and has been shut out of playoff contention for the past two seasons.

Nevertheless, Busch and Richard Childress will continue their partnership, with the 40-year-old staying with the racing outfit through 2026. It comes after Busch lost his crew chief, with rookie Connor Zilisch set to reap the rewards of the exit.

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Harvick, a longtime Cup Series adversary of Busch’s, is eager to witness the former champion back in Victory Lane in the near future.

“We all want to see Kyle Busch win. … as much as I’ve gone through moments where I hate Kyle Busch,” Harvick said on his podcast. “I’ve hated Kyle Busch with a passion at moments.”

Busch intends to prolong his NASCAR career and has confirmed his drive to capture victories remains strong.

“I definitely feel like the motivation just comes from the competition aspect and how driven I am, always wanting to win,” he told Express Sport US.

“It’s been a bit down the last couple of years, we haven’t been to Victory Lane, but that doesn’t go to show for me or my health or anything like that.

“We’re obviously working hard as a team in order to get our stuff back where we need it to be to be competitive each and every week, and to be up front leading laps and competing for wins.

Busch is winless in the Cup Series since 2023Busch is winless in the Cup Series since 2023(Image: Getty)

“It takes everything, you know. It’s not just myself, but the crew chiefs, engineers, pit crew, all of that stuff to be able to maintain tip-top competition every weekend going to the race track.

“My son, who races all the time, he wins a lot so he definitely keeps poking me that he’s winning more than me. I’m like, ‘hey man, go and look back at some YouTube videos, you’ll see how much winning I did!’. So it’s about trying to get back to that.

“You know I still think the pressure’s on,” he added. “We’ve got to win a race, we’ve got to get to Victory Lane before the season is out.

“Even though we may not be in the playoffs or competing for a championship, we’re still trying to be the spoiler and go out there to try and win a race and get ourselves a W in the win column. That’s what we need to do.”