Kyle Busch Meets Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon; Share NASCAR's Misery

Kyle Busch Has Memory Problem, Can He Recover?

History says yes, but we may have to wait for a new season and perhaps a new team leader.

Looking back, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt both go through moments similar to Kyle’s current woes, including Sunday’s mess at Pocono, where he shrugged afterward — “it doesn’t matter what I think,” he said.

An oil leak on the starting grid before the race was another headache, but not the last: getting dropped by Corey LaJoie officially ended Kyle’s day.

But then again, runners with even better records than Kyle have gone through similar struggles.

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Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon had “Kyle Busch seasons”?

It’s not for lack of trying, but neither has quite reached the depths of Kyle’s current dilemma – five retirements in the last seven starts, a best finish of ninth.

Earnhardt won four championships and 37 races between 1986 and 1991, but in 1992 he finished 12th in the standings, the worst result of his career. A series of engine failures over the summer sealed his fate.

In 2005, four-time champion Gordon had to fight back at the end of the year, dropping from 17th place (with five weeks to go) to 11th, his worst result since his rookie year.

Not wanting to rush things, two longtime crew chiefs let Earnhardt (Kirk Shelmerdine) and Gordon (Robbie Loomis) forget after their seasons.