“Someone Needs to Protect…”- Racing Fandom Unhappy as Kyle Busch’s KBM Loss Threatens NASCAR Icon’s Legacy

It is always difficult to let go of something you have been a part of and helped grow for a number of years. Kyle Busch experienced that twice this year. First, when he left Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 successful years, and second, when he decided to hand over the reins of Kyle Busch Motorsports. KBM was founded by Busch in 2009 and after 14 years, he sold the team’s assets to Spire Motorsports. It is a bittersweet moment for Rowdy but for several others, there are concerns over one of NASCAR’s greatest legacies coming under threat of being erased.

In an interview ahead of the second round of 12 race at Talladega, Rowdy expressed how he felt about letting go of the team he and Samantha Busch built from scratch. 

Kyle Busch says bittersweet farewell to KBM

Kyle Busch Motorsports primarily competes in the Truck Series where it has notched up 100 wins and has had 18 drivers who have come through the system and have made it to the Xfinity or Cup Series. The 38-year-old confirmed that he would still be a part of the team as a consultant and would drive the usual five races for them, but his time as team owner has come to an end.

KBM has had two drivers win the Truck Series with them and both have made a name for themselves in the higher divisions of NASCAR. The first winner was Erik Jones who won in 2015 and became the youngest Truck Series champion in history at the time. Only two years later, KBM had their second Truck Series champion in Christopher Bell.

Today, Bell is a full-time Cup Series driver for Joe Gibbs Racing while Jones drives full-time in the Cup for Legacy Motor Club. There is no question that KBM has been a massive success. While Rowdy is not the only one who should get the credit, he certainly had a big role to play in his team’s success. But why sell the team?

In a pre-race interview at Talladega, Busch revealed that the reason for him stepping away as team owner was the fact that he just hadn’t been able to attend to KBM as much as he’d like. His career as a Cup Series driver and his duty as a husband and a father (especially when his son is on course to be a motorsports athlete) had consumed a lot of his time and he simply didn’t have any left for KBM.

“I just feel like I haven’t been able to give as much as my devoted attention as it needs. Not being around as much with Brexton racing and family stuff and me racing and trying to focus on that and being with the Cup team and things,” he said.

It was a bittersweet moment for Busch as he said goodbye to something he helped create which would now get the proper attention it deserved. With the acquisition, Spire will move into the KBM building and will operate three Cup and three Truck teams from there. But that’s where fans have a problem.

Before this, Spire used the old Alan Kulwicki Motorsports shop as their base of operations. The KBM building offers them more space to operate but AKM has a rich history. For those who don’t know, Alan Kulwicki is one of the few owner-drivers to have won the Cup Series. He was tragically killed in an airplane crash in 1993 at the age of 38, less than a year after he won the Cup.

With Spire’s move into the KBM shop, fans fear that AK Motorsport’s legacy will come into jeopardy and they did not shy away from letting their feelings be known on social media platform Reddit.

Fans rally to protect one of NASCAR’s greatest legacies

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Spire has been operating out of the AK Motorsports garage for quite a while now so even without the historical angle, there is a lot of nostalgia involved as they will move to a new place to start a fresh chapter.

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According to NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, the whole conversation about Spire acquiring KBM started because the former required a larger office space. But that did not stop fans from stating that the AK Motorsports shop needed to exist and be used in the way it has always been.

“They were working out of the old Alan Kulwicki shop, right?” one fan asked.
“Don’t care where they move, but they or someone needs to protect the old AK Racing shop,” commented a user who seems to be an ardent Kulwicki fan.
“Awww I don’t want them to dump the old Kulwicki shop,” said another.
“hope someone else can take it over. Its been cool that a #7 car has been running out of that shop for so long,” commented another user.
“I hear the old Kulwicki shop might be for rent,” said another.

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While it is still unsure if the AK Motorsports shop will still be used for the purpose of motorsports, the NASCAR fans have made it crystal clear that they do not want one of Kulwicki’s standing legacies to fade into oblivion and hopefully, that will not be the case.