Watkins Glen, New York, May 11, 2026, 05:05 EDT
During Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Busch radioed his Richard Childress Racing crew, asking them to arrange for medical attention even as he kept driving the No. 8 Chevrolet. Busch ultimately stayed in the car and took eighth place in the NASCAR Cup Series event. His request for help came late in the Go Bowling at The Glen but no official diagnosis was given.
The timing is significant: Busch grabbed eighth, marking his strongest Cup result of 2026, and climbed to 24th in the standings. Still, he’s not in the 16-car Chase that’s set after Race 26. Busch sits at 217 points through a dozen races, tied with Zane Smith, but remains six positions under the playoff cut.
It comes as RCR is in the middle of a reset. On April 27, the team put Andy Street in as Busch’s crew chief, with RCR chairman Richard Childress saying the switch was about getting people “in the best position to succeed” following a sluggish start for Busch, the two-time Cup champion. Reuters
With 38 laps to go on Sunday, Busch radioed his crew to track down Bill Heisel, saying he’d want to see him after the race. They checked if Heisel should head for the car or the bus—Busch picked the bus. “I’m going to need a shot,” he told them. Racing News
Busch had been under the weather with a “sinus cold” in the days leading up to the race, according to The Sporting News, which referenced Mike Joy’s comments on the FS1 broadcast. The report noted Busch didn’t specify over the radio what kind of treatment he wanted or the reason behind it, and there was no follow-up information shared during the event. Sporting News
IBTimes UK noted there was still no formal word from Busch’s camp about why the request was made, or if it was tied to an injury. So for now, the facts are thin: Busch felt off and asked for assistance, yet stayed in the race.
Busch ran the full 100 laps, picked up 35 points, and crossed the line just after A.J. Allmendinger. RCR put both cars up front, with Austin Dillon landing sixth, as Shane van Gisbergen delivered a flag-to-flag win for Trackhouse Racing.
According to NASCAR’s race report, Busch grabbed fifth in Stage 2, just behind Dillon, who took fourth. Van Gisbergen dominated up front, controlling 74 out of 100 laps, slipping past Ty Gibbs in the closing stretch and pulling away to win by 7.288 seconds over Michael McDowell. Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.
After his win at Watkins Glen for a second year running, Van Gisbergen described the comeback as “very, very special.” Reuters noted it marked his seventh Cup victory—all on road courses—and his sixth win out of the last seven road races. Reuters
Busch spent some time in the top five during the afternoon, but ran out of fuel and crossed the line eighth, according to NASCAR’s at-track photo captions. For the No. 8 team, that finish was a relatively smooth outing compared to a season mostly marked by struggles with form and track position rather than competing for wins.
There’s some risk for RCR—a seemingly minor medical request on race day could turn into a more serious availability or performance concern ahead of the next Cup stop, set for May 17 at Dover Motor Speedway. NASCAR’s official results still had Busch running at the finish, and as of now, there’s been no confirmed injury or change to his schedule.
