On Saturday, June 6, at Michigan International Speedway, Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, spoke to members of the NASCAR media for the first time since the shocking and unexpected passing of Kyle Busch.
Busch passed away on May 21 after suffering from severe pneumonia, which progressed into sepsis, causing a number of adverse effects. Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, was 41 years old at the time of his passing.
Childress, in his opening remarks, shared the heart-wrenching news that the organization was preparing to announce a contract extension with Busch, so that the Las Vegas, Nevada-native would return to the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.
“The hardest part of this is today, we were going to be in here, Kyle was going to be with me, and we were going to announce that he was coming back in 2027 and drive for RCR,” Childress said. “We wanted to do it up here at Michigan with our GM friends with Chevrolet, and it didn’t happen. This is a different type of media availability; instead of a press conference, he was coming back to race for us.”
The 80-year-old team owner says that the announcement was scheduled to take place this weekend at Michigan International Speedway, an important venue to RCR because of their strong relationship with General Motors and Chevrolet.
Busch spent three years driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing and captured three victories with the team in 2023. The all-time winningest driver in NASCAR’s National Series was an important part of the “silly season” equation for this off-season, seeing as the performance of the organization had, admittedly, been off.
Childress reflected on a phone call during his media availability on Saturday, which he shared with Busch on Tuesday, just two days before his passing, where Busch claimed if Richard Childress Racing continued to give him strong race cars, like they had the three weeks prior, that Busch would get the No. 8 Chevrolet in “The Chase” this year – despite being outside the top-20 in point standings.
The legendary NASCAR driver, obviously, never got the opportunity to announce his fourth year with Richard Childress Racing. Instead, the team switched the No. 8 to the No. 33 (saving the No. 8 and its stylized font for Kyle’s son, Brexton, should he want to use it) and tapped Austin Hill to drive the second full-time NASCAR Cup Series entry – which Childress says Hill will continue to drive for the remainder of the season.
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