“We’ve got to change some things. You’ll see it,” said Richard Childress earlier this year, hinting at a major turnaround for his team. Amid a dismal season, and records, neither Kyle Busch nor Richard Childress Racing is proud of, it seems the team owner is closer to reaching that goal than ever before!

According to the latest rumor, Childress might have swept a veteran from underneath the debris of Stewart-Haas Racing’s downfall—the team’s Chief competition Officer, Greg Zipadelli.

In case you are unfamiliar with this name, the 57-year-old is a legend of his own accord. Just like RCR’s retired Executive VP of Competition, Andy Petree helped Dale Sr get the 1993 and 1994 titles as crew chief, Zipadelli did the same for Stewart’s #20 in 2002 and 2005. Surely, the duo of “Smoke” and “Zippy” is one for the history books. So it makes all the sense for Richard Childress to pull the trigger here.

Even NASCAR Insider, Kyle Dalton, talked about the possibility and explained how ‘Zippy’ could influence bringing about a positive change to the team.

“In the last couple of days, I’ve heard rumors from several sources that another high-profile SHR departure is in the works. Greg Zipadelli who has been with the organization since 2011 as the competition director is reportedly headed over to Richard Childress Racing,” Dalton said via his YouTube show, before continuing, “I have to think a new set of eyes coming in and more importantly, a pair that has been part of multiple championships with Tony Stewart and has been at SHR for more than a dozen years.”

Earlier, Kyle Busch had also hinted at some new additions in a post-race conference at Pocono.

“I have certainly heard of some names and some rumblings. I don’t know if any signatures have been put on paper to get some of those people in,” he said.

The driver had also talked about a competition director’s importance, to our correspondent Bharat Aggarwal: “I still think Andy brought a lot to the program and did a really good job. He worked hard with the things that he knew to do. I think we’re just kind of trying to change a little bit of culture, a little bit of philosophy, and a little bit of things, and scratching new surfaces that haven’t been scratched yet.” 

To us, this does seem like the foreshadowing of some major potential changes in the team. And we can’t negate the fact that Keith Rodden, who replaced Petree, took up the role in an interim capacity only. So this is where the prospect of RCR hiring Zipadelli seems likely.

With the recent overhaul of its executive branch and potential new incomings, it looks like they are on the right track. But will this be enough to keep Rowdy in the No. 8 car next season?

Which team will Kyle Busch most likely join?

At 39, Rowdy is arguably counting his last few years of competing at the highest level. Although a move to RCR looked promising, it has been nothing short of a nightmare. That especially holds true for the 2024 season, where he’s about to lose his ongoing record for consecutive seasons with a win. Although he is under contract at RCR until 2025, Corey LaJoie vacating the No. 7 seat led to cries by the fans about him joining Spire Motorsports next season.

But is it possible? Will Richard Childress let go of his star driver?

Well, it all depends on whether Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire Motorsports, is willing to break the bank, or if Busch is ready to break his contract. Another element in this link-up is the bond between him and Rowdy.

Notably, Jefferson used to serve as Busch’s spotter when he was a Hendrick Motorsports driver in the early 2000s. The latter even sold his Truck Series team, KBM, to his old pal last year, and a return to Spire at the Cup level would feel like homecoming. Also, he would be able to link up with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers, who will be at the helm of the #7 team in 2025.

The prospect of making a switch to a new team, keeping in mind the current misery, must be tempting for Busch. Probably, the only thing that could lengthen his stay at RCR beyond 2024 is a win, and it’s just hard to see how the No. 8 Chevy can find itself back in the victory lane.