Well, it’s officially official.
Rumors began to circulate that Kyle Busch had officially narrowed down his two future team options to Richard Childress Racing, and 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin.
It felt a little far fetched, considering Busch and Childress got into a literal fist fight after a truck series race at Kansas Motor Speedway back in 2011.
However, when Childress was asked about the possibility of Busch joining the team, he never shot the idea down, and said that the two have made amends since 2011’s incident.
But when he was asked if Busch was joining, he responded:
“You said it, I didn’t.”
With that being said, Busch and Childress have just made the announcement that Busch will officially be joining RCR for the upcoming season in the No. 8 car.
Busch announced in the press conference:
“Now for the moment you all couldn’t wait for, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be taking my talents to Welcome, North Carolina to drive the No. 8 car for Richard Childress Racing starting in 2023.”
In the press conference, Childress said that Busch’s incredible resume of two championships and 200 plus wins throughout his racing career was enough for Childress to want to sign him.
He was also asked about the fight that happened in 2011, and he said that the two have grown a lot from that incident, and the past is behind them.
Busch leaving Joe Gibbs Racing for a new team stems from their loss of partnerships with Mars leaving as the main sponsor of the #18 car.
Joe Gibbs Racing President Dave Alpern explained it earlier this summer:
“[The company] wants to try some new things, and no matter how big a brand is, they have a finite budget, so when you want to try something new, it has to come from somewhere else.”
Kyle also weighed in on the issue back in July:
“You’ve gotta have sponsorship in this sport to be able to go forward. It’s not as simple as being a basketball player and being a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James and being a really good player and the team losing a sponsor and then saying, ‘OK, Michael, LeBron, we gotta let you go because we can’t afford you.’”
Toyota Racing Development David Wilson agreed:
“The driving issue, the underlying issue, is his sponsorship and the departure of Mars. That is the biggest issue, and until that is solved to whatever degree… because that dictates everything else; it dictates salary, dictates everything else that comes.
But that’s the keystone. We have to find that and place that keystone first.”
Tyler Reddick will drive a third car for RCR next year before moving to 23XI in 2024.
Here’s the full announcement:
