Kevin Harvick Says Just One Thing…—Then Kyle Busch’s Texas Dream Turns Into a Nightmare That Shocks Fans

The Texas Motor Speedway in 2025 was supposed to be Kyle Busch’s redemption song. After a grueling 2024 season with no wins—the first in his storied full-time career—the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was hungry for victory. His No. 8 Chevrolet, adorned with a sleek 7-Eleven livery, screamed potential. Busch, who turned 40 just days before the race, was chasing not just a checkered flag but a legacy akin to Denny Hamlin’s, still winning at 43. “Denny has done a great job… winning races at his age. That’s something I want to do,” Busch had said pre-race, his eyes fixed on the horizon (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025). Fans felt the electricity; this was “Rowdy’s” moment. Then, in a twist that could only be scripted by fate, Kevin Harvick’s words turned Busch’s dream into a livestream nightmare.

The Setup: Busch’s Grit Meets Texas Chaos

The Wurth 400 at Texas was a cauldron of chaos—15 lead changes, 10 cautions, and drama that kept fans glued to their screens. Busch, starting from a modest 26th, clawed his way to third with the kind of tenacity that’s defined his 20-year career. His Richard Childress Racing (RCR) team executed flawless pit stops, a stark improvement from earlier inconsistencies (Harvick’s Happy Hour, May 8, 2025). The No. 8 was fast, the strategy was on point, and Busch was hunting down the leaders, including Chase Briscoe’s dominant No. 14 SHR Ford. Social media buzzed with “Rowdy Nation” rallying behind their hero, sensing a breakthrough after a 40-race winless streak, the longest of Busch’s career (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025).

Enter Kevin Harvick, now a FOX Sports broadcaster, whose voice 

carried the weight of a 2014 Cup champion and Busch’s former rival. From the commentary booth, Harvick showered praise on Busch’s resurgence. “The eight car was fast, had a great sponsor with 7-Eleven, great brand, looks cool. Everybody’s rooting for Kyle Busch right now,” Harvick said, his enthusiasm palpable. “I was trying to give the guy some love…” (Harvick’s Happy Hour, May 8, 2025). Fans on X echoed the sentiment, with posts like “Kyle’s about to shut the haters up!” But then, as if the racing gods were eavesdropping, disaster struck.

The Curse: Harvick’s Words and Busch’s Wreck

In a heartbeat, Busch’s dream unraveled. Exiting Turn 4, just as Harvick’s praise filled the airwaves, Busch’s No. 8 got loose, kissed the wall, and spun into oblivion. The crash was brutal, ending his race and leaving him 20th (Sportskeeda, May 8, 2025). Social media erupted with accusations of a “Harvick jinx.” One X user, @3dalesrfan3, posted at 5:29 AM on May 5, 2025: “@KevinHarvick just absolutely jinxed @KyleBusch. Put a curse on the 8 that took him out IMMEDIATELY!! #NASCAR #Wurth400” (X, May 5, 2025). The term “Harvick curse” trended, with fans half-joking, half-convinced that Harvick’s words were cursed.

Harvick, on his Happy Hour podcast, laughed off the blame with characteristic wit: “Hey, don’t blame me… I was trying to give the guy some love, and mid-sentence we backed into the fence off four” (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025). But he didn’t shy away from analyzing the wreck. “He’s so used to driving the old car past its edge and saving it. You can’t do that with the Next Gen car,” Harvick noted, pointing to the car’s unforgiving dynamics in Turns 3 and 4, where a bump unloads the suspension (Harvick’s Happy Hour, May 8, 2025). The Next Gen car, introduced in 2022, has been Busch’s kryptonite, with six DNFs in 2022 and 2023, and no wins in 2024 (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025).

Busch’s Struggles: A Deeper Look

The Texas wreck wasn’t just a one-off; it was a microcosm of Busch’s 2025 struggles. Through 12 races, including the Bowman Gray Clash, Busch has only one top-five finish and an average of 17th (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025). His 228 points rank him 16th, teetering outside the playoff cutline (Sportskeeda, May 8, 2025). The Next Gen car’s rigidity has clashed with Busch’s edge-of-control driving style, a hallmark of his 63 Cup wins. Harvick, a longtime observer of Busch, explained: “The way that bump is in Turns 3 and 4, it unloads the car. Kyle’s not used to that” (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025).

Busch’s woes extend beyond the track. Selling Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) to Spire Motorsports in 2023 was a gut-wrenching decision driven by financial pressures, leaving Busch nostalgic for the camaraderie of his championship-winning team (Sportskeeda, May 8, 2025). “I miss the Rudy’s, the Eric Phillips of the world… that made KBM as dominant as it was,” Busch said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. The sale, while pragmatic, stripped Busch of a personal anchor, adding emotional weight to his on-track battles.

The Harvick-Busch Saga: Rivalry to Respect

The “Harvick curse” narrative is juicy, but it’s rooted in a deeper history. Harvick and Busch were once NASCAR’s fiercest rivals, their feud peaking in 2011 at Darlington, where Harvick nearly punched Busch through his driver-side window (NASCAR.com, Mar 9, 2019). Harvick’s 2011 radio rant after Busch wrecked Ron Hornaday’s truck at Texas—“Kyle Busch is going to get his ass whipped… he’s the biggest whining little piece of [expletive]”—is NASCAR folklore (PilotOnline, Nov 4, 2011). Yet, over time, their “unhealthy competitiveness” evolved into mutual respect. By 2019, Harvick told NASCAR.com: “There isn’t a guy I want to beat more than Kyle… if you’ve beat him, you’ve had a really good day” (NASCAR.com, Mar 9, 2019).

This respect shines through Harvick’s 2025 commentary. Despite the jinx jokes, Harvick is Busch’s biggest cheerleader. “I want Kyle Busch to win so bad. If he does, they’re gonna tear the place down,” he said post-Texas (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025). Their history adds irony to the “curse” narrative—two former enemies now linked by a fluke moment in the broadcast booth.

Fan Reaction and the “Curse” Myth

The X frenzy over the “Harvick curse” reflects NASCAR’s passionate fanbase. Posts like @3dalesrfan3’s captured the moment’s surreal timing, with fans split between humor and genuine belief in a jinx. “Rowdy Nation” felt the sting, especially after Busch’s earlier 2025 heartbreak at Daytona, where a DVP ruling sidelined him (Motociclismo, Feb 19, 2025). Harvick addressed the Daytona controversy too, defending NASCAR’s call but suggesting Busch’s team misread the rules (Motociclismo, Feb 19, 2025). The Texas wreck, coming on the heels of Daytona, fueled the narrative of Busch as a cursed figure, battling not just rivals but fate itself.

Yet, the “curse” is more myth than reality. Busch’s crash was a product of the Next Gen car’s quirks and Texas’s tricky layout, not Harvick’s words. Harvick’s podcast analysis—focusing on pit road, car instability, and bad luck—grounds the incident in technical reality (EssentiallySports, May 8, 2025). Still, the myth persists, a testament to NASCAR’s knack for drama.

What’s Next for Busch?

Busch’s Texas nightmare doesn’t end his 2025 hopes. With 24 races left, tracks like Darlington—where Harvick predicted a “Cinderella story” (EssentiallySports, Aug 27, 2024)—offer chances to snap his winless streak. RCR’s post-Olympic break surge in 2024, with Busch and Austin Dillon leading laps, signals potential (Newsweek, Sep 6, 2024). Busch’s grit, shown in his climb from 26th to third at Texas, remains his greatest asset.

For Harvick, the incident underscores his growing influence as a broadcaster. His candid style, honed over two years at FOX, makes him a fan favorite, even if his praise occasionally backfires (ProFootballNetwork, Apr 24, 2025). The “curse” may be a running joke, but Harvick’s respect for Busch is no laughing matter.

A Tale of Timing and Tenacity

The Texas Motor Speedway wreck was a gut-punch for Kyle Busch, a moment where hope collided with harsh reality. Kevin Harvick’s ill-timed praise, dubbed a “curse” by fans, added a layer of NASCAR magic to an otherwise technical mishap. Yet, this is Busch’s story—defined not by crashes but by comebacks. As he eyes tracks like Darlington and Phoenix, where he and Harvick once dominated (NASCAR.com, Mar 9, 2019), Busch’s legacy as “Rowdy” endures. For now, the livestream nightmare lingers, but in NASCAR, the next race is always a chance to rewrite the script.