“I Can Certainly Make His Life Hell!” Kyle Busch Threatens Denny Hamlin Over RCR Form Criticism

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch called out ex-teammate Denny Hamlin over criticism of his poor 2026 Cup Series season.

“I Can Certainly Make His Life Hell!” Kyle Busch Threatens Denny Hamlin Over RCR Form Criticism

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season so far has been a nightmare for Kyle Busch, with the two times Champion failing to produce a single impactful performance. Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin recently talked about his ex-teammate’s poor streak in the latest episode of his podcast, criticising the racer for failure to even have a proper speed gap to teammate Austin Dillon.

The No:11 Toyota driver hinted that though the No:8 Chevy driver is still supremely talented, father time is catching up with him and no-longer has an advantage over the rest. Busch didn’t appreciate the 23XI Racing owner’s comments and called him out on it ahead of Kansas race. He offered the JGR driver the opportunity to prove he is the weak link by switching cars.

If Denny wants to switch cars I’ll switch cars with him. Any day of the week, any time. I’d love for him to show me that he can carry it better than I can.

Kyle Busch said at Kansas.

It seems though the veteran didn’t take the criticism the way Denny Hamlin intended, as the three times Daytona 500 champion was not questioning Kyle Busch’s credibility as racer. Further talking about the comments, the 40-year-old highlighted that DH is talking about a situation he doesn’t understand and threatened him by saying the No:8 team will make the No:11 teams’ life a hell on the track.

I have consumed some of it over time. 80 percent of people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. In this instance, I don’t know that Denny Hamlin even knows what the hell he’s talking about. He can bash me all he wants. I can certainly make his life hell.

Kyle Busch added.

Kyle Busch blasted Denny Hamlin’s driver as well

Later in the same session, Kyle Busch was asked about his run-in with Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing driver and his business partners’ son Riley Herbst last Sunday at Bristol. He highlighted that it was an awkward situation for him and called the young racer’s attitude weird.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

Yeah, it’s really weird with Riley because they have a nice family business out there in Nevada and I’m a part of that family business being an investor in a couple of the stores. So, it’s real awkward when you can’t get along with the kid who is probably going to take over that.

Kyle Busch said.

Furthermore, he called out the youngster who is known for making mistakes over the bonehead moves. He reminded the field that he will not be taking such moves on him lightly in the coming races, hinting at payback.

It’s just bonehead moves. You keep getting run over. Certainly I’m not going to take it, so that’s just part of it, I guess.

Kyle Busch added.

The comments show the overall frustration that is there at Richard Childress Racing over their poor start to the 2026 season. It would be interesting to see how many more races it will take them to have the redemption they are desperately seeking.

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