Kyle Busch signing up with Richard Childress Racing has reignited dreams of the team’s former grandeur. Busch hasn’t changed teams often. He started out with Hendrick Motorsports, moved for 15 successful years to Joe Gibbs Racing, and is now back driving Chevrolet for RCR. Despite there being some bad blood between Richard Childress and Busch in the past, when Childress welcomed Busch onto his team, he jokingly said, “Will you hold my watch?” as a reference to their notorious altercation.
Now that he has already won three races with the team this season, he feels that not just the ones inside the team but even people from outside helped him close the deal with Richard Childress— even without him knowing.
In a recent interview, he discussed the much-hyped switch to Richard Childress Racing and how even those initially unaware of the move eventually caught wind of it. This eventually led him to wonder if someone from the outside had facilitated his move.
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Was the Richard Childress–Kyle Busch deal backed by someone else too?
After two titles and scores of victories, Busch was ready to have his contract extended once JGR secured a new principal sponsor. However, JGR had to scramble to replace Busch’s #18 car’s multi-million-dollar sponsor after M&M’s declared it was pulling out of NASCAR. According to some reports, bringing in another sponsor for Busch was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, given his perceived nature on and off the track. At that point, Busch made the decision to move back to Chevrolet, also switching the OEM for his Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports.
With JGR being unable to find him a sponsor and Coach Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs winning the 2022 Xfinity Series, Kyle Busch found himself outside of his comfort zone in the sport. Recently in Atlanta, Busch had an exclusive interview with Fox Sports. He described an incident from late last year related to NASCAR Chairman Jim France. It was when his future still seemed to be in limbo. He recalled telling Jim France, apparently with dejection, “Nice knowing you. I’m not going to be here next year.”
The latter cried, “Wait, what? What does that mean?” But it appeared that France learned about the arrangement, prompting Busch to wonder, “Maybe he had something to do with it.”
Watch This Story: Driver Who Got Jeopardized by Kyle Busch Ends Decade-Long Drought As Fans Rejoice
With Randall Burnett and Kyle Busch at the helm, can RCR end the 29-year drought?
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Randall Brunett, Busch’s crew chief for the #8 Chevrolet, acknowledges that while Busch clinched his third victory of the year at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, there is still ample room for improvement if he intends to vie for a third Cup championship. Adding to that, he emphasized, “Me and Kyle and our whole group have talked about it, and we know we’ve all got to clean it up on our end, especially if we’re going to compete for the championship.”
Amid his triumphs, however, Busch has encountered his fair share of trials, particularly on the shorter tracks. Interestingly, Busch himself shares the same sentiment as his crew chief, admitting, “We’ve had some really good runs. We’ve had three wins obviously, which is great. But we’ve also had some of the dismal days as well.”
Busch further remarked that the entire organization has been diligently toiling to establish his comfort with the car on every track, fully aware that this season holds the promise of more victories and perhaps even a championship. It’s worth noting that RCR hasn’t clinched a driver’s championship in the Cup Series since 1994.
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As ardent fans, witnessing Kyle Busch’s resurgence is undeniably thrilling. Yet, it piques our curiosity as to whether he can replicate the same level of success he achieved with JGR.
Read More: Fans Are Thrilled as the Guy Who’s Seat Kyle Busch Stole Finally Breaks His 10-Year Drought