Kyle Busch, left, jokes with team owner Joe Gibbs, in victory lane after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on May 22, 2008. After 15 seasons with JGR, Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing.
Kyle Busch, left, jokes with team owner Joe Gibbs, in victory lane after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on May 22, 2008. After 15 seasons with JGR, Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing.
Terry Renna/Associated Press
Kyle Busch (left), car owner Richard Childress (center) and Austin Dillon (right) look for a big 2023 season.
Richard Childress Racing
Kyle Busch will be the driver of the No. 8 Cheddar's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in 2023.
The saga of Kyle Busch not being able to reach an agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and ultimately signing with Richard Childress Racing dominated much of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Heading into the new season, the question is whether the two-time NASCAR champion can have the same performance in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet that he enjoyed so many seasons in the No. 18 JGR Toyota.
From first glance, it might appear the move to the Childress team would be a step back for the 37-year-old Las Vegas driver. RCR’s last Cup Series championship was in 1994 with Dale Earnhardt driving the black No. 3 Chevrolet.
Fifty-five of Busch’s 60 career wins, tying him with Kevin Harvick for the most among active drivers, came behind the wheel of the No. 18 Gibbs machine. Since Harvick left RCR in 2014, the organization has just eight wins over those nine seasons.
A closer look, however, reveals that four of RCR’s wins were in 2022, three by Tyler Reddick in the No. 8 car. Meanwhile, Busch has struggled in the No. 18 since winning his second title in 2019. He has four wins over the past three seasons, and his only 2022 victory came at the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol after leaders Reddick and Chase Briscoe spun out on the final lap.
Most agree the change of scenery is good for Busch, a nine-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway. He’s certainly motivated; new teammate Austin Dillon revealed that Busch has frequently shown up at the shop, which provides extra incentive to the crew.
There is hope within the organization that Busch will also elevate Dillon to a level he’s never been. Dillon owns four career wins, including the 2018 Daytona 500. Furthermore, he has made the NASCAR playoffs five times but has yet to advance past the second round.
However, Dillon outperformed Busch at the end of the 2022 season with an 11th-place finish in the standings. He posted a fourth-place run at Homestead and a pair of 10th-place finishes at Las Vegas and the Charlotte Roval. Busch had a pair of third-place finishes at Las Vegas and the Roval, but had six finishes of 20th or worse in the playoff races.
Still, Busch is a proven winner and he has the extra motivation of chasing one of NASCAR’s iconic records. He is tied with Richard Petty with 18 straight seasons with a win. A victory in 2023 would give Busch sole possession of the record.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will take a look at some of the other driver changes for the 2023 season, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson’s return to NASCAR for five races after the last couple of years in IndyCar.
