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Kyle Busch Driving No. 8 for RCR in 2023

Kyle Busch officially announced Sept. 13 he will join Richard Childress Racing for NASCAR Cup Series competition in a multi-year agreement starting in 2023.

The 37-year-old will switch from the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota he has driven since 2008 to the No. 8 Chevrolet, a team entry currently fielded by RCR and driven by Tyler Reddick.

“RCR has an impressive history in NASCAR and I’m honored that Richard is putting his trust in me to come in and continue to build on that legacy,” Busch said in a release. “Growing up in a family of passionate racers myself, I feel like the culture that the Childress family has built within their organization will be an ideal fit for me. As I begin the next chapter of my career, I’m looking forward to driving for RCR and working with everyone there to add more wins and championships to both of our resumes.”

According to the release, Reddick remains under contract with RCR for 2023 and will compete for the team in some capacity. Team owner Richard Childress stated the team plans on acquiring a third charter for Reddick but has not specified from what team.

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“The addition of Kyle Busch to the Richard Childress Racing lineup is significant, not only for our organization, but for the sport as a whole,” Childress said. “Kyle is a proven contender at the highest levels of the sport, and I believe that his experience and dedication to motorsports will elevate our race program across the board. I’ve always admired Kyle’s driving style and his ability to win and race for championships ever since he entered the sport. Who wouldn’t want a proven NASCAR Cup Series champion driving their car?”

The announcement comes after months of speculation regarding where the two-time Cup champion would go for his future after contract negotiations stalled with JGR.

The status of Busch’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, is not currently known. Busch has said he has nothing to announce as of yet but does plan on switching the team’s manufacturer from Toyota to Chevrolet.

During a press conference announcing the move, team owner Childress also offered a future contract to Busch’s son, Brexton.

After what has been a rough first couple of playoff weeks, Busch sits 13th in the postseason Cup standings only two points below the cut line with one more race at Bristol Motor Speedway left before the first-round elimination.

About the author

Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.

Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT

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18 Comments
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Jake

A 3rd charter for KB next year. Then in 2024 Ty Dillon can waste away a quality cup seat once Reddick leaves

Jill P

I think Austin Hill or Sheldon Creed will be the third car in 2024.

Dale EarnHog

Some are saying Rc will lease a charter for one year.

Charlie

Kyle will increase the performance of RCR. Who knows the driver of the third charter after next year. Speculation is great, but these are business decisions.

janice

we’ll see how it plays out. hopefully rcr will be competititve. bowtie’s gains is toyota’s loss. wonder how reddick feels? at least kyle b has, hopefully, grown out of the brashness he had in his younger years. it will be interesting to see how well kyle tolerates austin.

this is probably best opportunity for rcr to win another championship.

Bill B

I’m guessing Kyle will make regular guest appearances on Austin’s reality television show. So they will get along OK. LOL

Carl D.'s Mom

So… if Kurt doesn’t come back, that may change everything as far as Reddick and the #45 are concerned.

Bill B

That’s the most likely outcome. Otherwise it will be a lame duck year for Reddick. He will be given hand-me-down cars and have a rag-tag team of extras (unless Childress is serious about starting a third team).

Echo

How’s Toyota’s pipeline of young good drivers look now with KBM running Chevy trucks. How did bubba’s cars become so fast the last 8 races or so !

DoninAjax

Does the word “vinyl” bring back memories?

Bill B

Steroids?

Echo

Definitely I think.

Dale EarnHog

The natural progression of a driver?

Echo

Bong bong bong, wrong answer.

eddo

I can’t help but wonder how Childress was able to put together sponsors to get Kyle, where Gibbs was not…

Bill B

My guess is he hasn’t or we’d have already heard something.

DoninAjax

Maybe it came down to how much money the sponsors would put up? I wonder how much of a pay cut he took?

eddo

Childress mentioned during the press conference that he has sponsors lined up. Could be blowing smoke, or maybe not.
One thought was maybe sponsors not as “family friendly” (read: CBD, Hemp, etc,) that may not have been approvable by Gibbs are ok with Childress?