Kyle Busch Move To RCR Is Toyota’s Loss, Chevrolet’s Gain

Kyle Busch and Richard Childress made official Tuesday what had been leaked days prior: Busch will move to Richard Childress Racing starting in 2023. Busch will drive No. 8 Chevrolet for the team currently driven by Tyler Reddick.

The move was set in motion late last year when Mars Inc. announced they would be leaving NASCAR at the end of this season after 30 years in the sport with the last 14 years being at Joe Gibbs Racing and Busch. At the time, many felt that despite the loss of primary sponsorship leaving Joe Gibbs Racing wouldn’t be an option. Busch has won 56 Cup races and two titles with the team. But fulltime season long sponsorships like Mars are becoming rare and despite a season long effort, it appears that finding one with Gibbs, failed.

Busch said he needed a “reset” and a “boss who understands where I’ve been.” He added that he really began interest in the team when Reddick “blew his doors off” in the No. 8 during the Clash exhibition race in Los Angeles in February. His interest was further heightened after he spent time around the team.

“I feel like the culture that the Childress family has built within their organization will be an ideal fit for me,” Busch said. “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.”

MORE FROM FORBESDespite Losing A Primary Sponsor, Nascar’s Kyle Busch And Joe Gibbs Racing Are In A Good PlaceBy Greg Engle

Earlier this summer Childress was stunned when Reddick announced he would be leaving RCR at the end of 2023 to move to 23XI Racing which fields Toyota’s. Childress said Tuesday that Reddick was told just prior to the announcement that he will still be racing for the team in 2023.

Toyota too tried to keep its winningest NASCAR driver in the fold but was unable.

Busch will return to Chevy, the manufacturer he began his Cup career with at Hendrick Motorsports. Busch, a young up and coming 19-year-old at the time, raced for Hendrick part time in 2004, and full time from 2005 to 2008, scoring three wins in 114 starts. During the same period in the Truck series, he scored 6 wins, and 11 in the Xfinity series for the team.

“We’d like to welcome Kyle back to Team Chevy, where he started his NASCAR career,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “As a 60 Cup race winner and two-time champion, he will be a valuable addition to Richard Childress Racing and the Chevrolet line-up. We look forward to working with Kyle starting in 2023.”

The young brash Busch was known for angry outbursts on and off the track. Hendrick released Busch at the end of 2007 partially perhaps due to the young driver’s temper, and partially to make way for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who at the time was the most marketable driver in NASCAR.

For Childress, the Busch addition is somewhat of a coup given Busch’s record. Childress, best known as team owner for the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr., fields the famous No. 3 for his grandson Austin Dillon and the No. 8 for Reddick.

“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,” Childress said. “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?”

It’s somewhat of an odd pairing on surface. The driver and his new team owner have a contentious past. In June of 2011 after a truck series race at Kansas, Childress confronted Busch after Busch ran into his driver at the time Joey Coulter, on the cool down lap. Fists were thrown, Busch was put in a headlock by the then 65-year-old, and a shouting match ensued. Childress allegedly, and famously, told someone to “hold his watch” prior to attacking Busch.

Childress was later fined $150,000 and put on probation after the incident. Earlier that same season, Busch and then RCR driver Kevin Harvick got into an altercation after the Cup race at Darlington Raceway. Harvick confronted Busch on pit road and took a swing at him while Busch was still inside the car. Busch responded by pushing Harvick’s car into the inside retaining wall on pit road.

Busch was asked last Saturday at Kansas how he even came to negotiating with Childress given their past.

“Who’s to say he hasn’t punched me again in any of these conversations,” he joked before turning serious. “Whenever you go into negotiations, it’s never fun so you’re duking the whole time. I think you grow up and you work through things, and you talk it over. Really it was fine the first time I sat down with him, and everything was okay. The biggest thing about it was just having an opportunity to kind of put that behind us. It was no different than going on the Dale Jr. Download and talking about 2008 and crashing at Richmond, you know what I mean. You get through it, and you talk about it and life moves on.”

Tuesday Childress walked on stage after being introduced and handed Busch a green Rolex watch box, jokingly telling him he “forgot to give him his signing bonus” and asking Busch “would you hold my watch?”

Busch founded Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2009. Those teams compete in the NASCAR Truck Series as well the ARCA Menards Series. Busch said Tuesday that KBM will be moving from Toyota to Chevy as well in 2023.

Last month David Wilson, president, Toyota Racing Development said the manufacturer was working hard to keep Busch in its fold.

“Kyle Busch is our 60-home-run hitter, and we’d be foolish not to put everything in play to keep him in the family” Wilson said. “And that’s what we continue to do.”

“I don’t want to race against a pissed-off Kyle Busch,” he added. “But wherever he lands, he’s gonna do some damage.”

Tuesday TRD released a statement attributed to David Wilson:

“Toyota and TRD are privileged to have raced with Kyle Busch, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. While we certainly wish Kyle the best of luck in the future and congratulate him on his announcement to join Richard Childress Racing, we’re disappointed and saddened that his future won’t continue to be with Team Toyota. Kyle has been an ambassador for Toyota since joining the program in 2008. He’s gone on to accumulate some of the most prestigious milestones possible for the Toyota brand, including our first Cup Series win for the Camry and first Cup Series championship. He will undoubtedly hold the record for the most wins in a Toyota across all three Championship Series for decades to come. But more than that, Kyle has been a friend, part of our family and has played a key role in the development of many of our drivers through his ownership of Kyle Busch Motorsports. We wish nothing but the best for Kyle and his entire family as he moves into the next chapter of his Hall of Fame career. We’re thankful to have been along for the ride.”